There are some issues that are of the IRB concern and may extend the time of approval of your study. Please review this page carefully so you can avoid surprises when submitting your research proposal.
The PI must know that recreational marijuana is not legal in NJ. It may be sooner or later, but is not legal now ( see Map of Marijuana Legality). Thus, asking questions about the use of recreational marijuana must rise the IRB concern since it puts subject at great risk of being exposed as a offender.
Here are the possible questions that rise concerns:
Have you ever smoked marijuana?
If yes, do you smoke recreationally or for medical use?
How often do you smoke marijuana?
Question 1 does not directly imply any illegal activity; one may say "yes" because (s)he just happens to live in the state the marijuana is legalized. But question 2 implies that the person continues smoking ("do you...?")
It is like asking someone who steals cars to officially admit it:
Have you ever stolen a car?
- Yes, I have; the first one in 2015.
If yes, do you steal cars recreationally or for other use?
- Yeah.. . a lot of fun.
How often do you do so?
- Every two months allright.
I made the example up, but I think it shows the situation.
Questions that are "safe" to put in the survey:
Do you know anybody that have smoked/smokes?
Do you believe marijuana has a positive or negative effect on the health of the human body?
If marijuana was legal in the state of New Jersey, would it have a positive or negative influence on the state? In what way would this have an impact? (economy, public health, workplace, criminal activity, alcohol consumption, etc.)
***
There is also another factor to the study involving marijuana. By posing questions that imply that students smoke marijuana you support the culture of smoking by our students. I doubt that goes along the Felician University values. Naturally, if you ask that question as a private person in a conversation with your colleagues, that's your questions; it is a free country and you can ask whatever you want. But we are talking about a research project created under the University supervision.