Be it on the library roof, under the bridge of Wren or Lewis, or in the blue-painted tower of Carmichael Hall, students are smoking pot. It's not just here at Tufts, either - students all over the country are toking up, and the number is rising every year.
The Facts
A Harvard School of Public Health study of 14,000 four-year US college students concluded that marijuana use is on the upswing. Between 1993 and 1999, marijuana use rose 22 percent, with 15.7 percent of students in 1999 claiming to have used marijuana in the previous month.
The study reports that students who smoke cigarettes, binge drink, and have multiple sex partners use marijuana more than those who don't. The study also reports that the use of other illicit drugs, like cocaine and heroin, also increased.
The typical marijuana user is a single, white person who spends more time partying than studying. The study also shows that your friends at the University of Vermont are more likely to smoke up than those at Virginia, because marijuana use is highest at colleges in the Northeast and lowest at institutions in the South. It also reported that colleges listed as "very competitive," like Tufts, have the highest levels of marijuana use, whereas those classified as "not competitive" have the lowest.
Why did you start?
"There are a lot of reasons why I never wanted to smoke," one female junior said, adding that she didn't try pot until last year because of health reasons like lung and brain damage. "I changed my mind," she explained, "because I decided that I was ready to experiment. I knew that I was old enough and mature enough to make the decision. I knew that I would be able to handle it in moderation."
A male junior who began smoking his sophomore year explained his reasoning. "I was curious what it was like, and decided that I would be able to handle it responsibly," he said.
He added that marijuana serves as an alternative to alcohol, and one without the morning-after side effects. "It feels more natural than getting drunk off my ass," he said. "I can wake up and actually function and not feel like wanting to kill myself."
Others echoed these sentiments, pointing out that marijuana use avoids some of the drawbacks of alcohol. "[It doesn't] make me sick and throw up, and even better, there's no hangover. It doesn't me feel or act like an asshole," another student said. Plus, except for the occasional "stupid head" that some experience after the drug wears off, being high is easier to conceal.
Some students say they're turning to marijuana in light of the administration's recent crackdown on campus drinking. "I don't really drink too much, so that's my alternative for being social," one student said. Minors say it's easier to get their hands on marijuana, especially because area liquor stores reject fake ID's frequently.
Aside from its greater accessibility, students say marijuana has other advantages over alcohol. "I smoke because it's a form of release," one student said. "It just relaxes you. Even though I definitely feel more fun and gregarious and loud when I'm drunk, I feel more sociable and in control of myself when I'm high."
Others, however, said they were victims of peer pressure. "I tried it because I was with my friends and it was a situation that I felt comfortable in. It had never crossed my path before, and so it was not a decision I had to make," one student said.
One junior said that his roommate, had influenced his frequent marijuana use. "[He] is the worst thing that ever happened to me motivation-wise," he said. "I definitely think roommates are a big factor, but I don't think it's peer pressure. Pot's just a social thing, so I guess you can say it's more peer-influenced."
Legalization of marijuana
Nationally, a debate rages surrounding the legalization of marijuana. Movements in many states to legalize the marijuana for medicinal purposes have resulted in a number of ballot initiatives, including one in each in Nevada and Colorado, voted on last week. Both passed. California passed a ballot measure that emphasizes treatment centers over jail time for users, while its Mendocino County voted to allow adults to grow 25 pot plants each. Alaskans, meanwhile, voted against legalizing the recreational use of marijuana for anyone over the age of 18.
Although the debate centers around marijuana's offering pain relief, inducing appetite, and alleviating symptoms of nausea and vomiting in cancer or AIDS patients, many college students with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) "self-medicate" themselves with marijuana. One student claims that his roommate with ADD would smoke before every single test or paper he wrote last year in order to "calm himself and better organize his ideas."
Ignoring any potential medical benefits, many around the country are fighting for its legalization on simply recreational grounds.
"Do I think it should be legalized? Yeah, of course," one student said. "I think it's completely hypocritical that alcohol is legal just because it is a socially-accepted drug when it causes hundreds of thousands of alcohol-related car accidents and fatalities."
The consequences
Being caught with marijuana is never good. If students are found smoking up in their dorms, Residential Life takes immediate disciplinary action against the offenders. The Res Life office, acting through Resident Assistants, stresses its zero-tolerance policy toward illicit substances on their website, in pamphlets, on posters, and in the Habitats publication.
"Essentially, it's the [Masssachusetts state] law so there's not much you can say about it. In terms of our ability to enforce or not enforce, we don't have a choice," said Bob Clark, the Assistant Director for Staff and Judicial Programs at Res Life.
"To my knowledge, there have been no expulsions for repeated offenses," Clark said. However, disciplinary action in the form of fines and write-ups has been taken.
Despite all the hype about stringent repercussions, Clark maintains that, "no single dorm has more than two incidents." This semester, there have been ten write-ups of marijuana use in dormitories. During the 1999-2000 school year, there were 31 reports. This figure is significantly lower than last year's 135 recorded incidents involving alcohol in residence halls.
The administration is not the only threat to students who smoke. A senior who tried pot for the first time this semester said that fear of a drug test at her job deterred her from smoking earlier. Many pot-smoking student athletes are also weary of random drug testing because the NCAA reserves the right to administer random drug tests to Division III athletes during NCAA tournaments.
Aside from the legal consequences, there are also some physical side effects. Any type of smoking can harm the mouth, throat, and lungs. Additionally, the drug impairs one's reaction time and slows reflexes, therefore hampering driving ability. In extreme cases, users may experience nausea, anxiety, paranoia, and even hallucinations.
One junior stopped smoking pot her freshman year after joining a spring sports team, so that she could perform better. "It made me feel physically better when I stopped smoking pot, and I definitely think a bit clearer now," she said. "I wanted to be safe because I was unsure about the drug testing policy."
Pot can also heighten a person's senses and increase appetite. Physically, marijuana can cause a more rapid heart rate, dryness in the mouth, and reddening of the eyes. Repeated use does not lead to addiction - users do not experience withdrawal symptoms - although recent studies have found that some may develop a non-physical dependence.
Uses and paraphernalia
Marijuana use is almost as diverse as it is prevalent, with a number of options available to users. Some students like adding pot to baked goods. Pot brownies are popular, but students come up with many different ways of consumption. "Pot cake, pot ice cream, pot banana bread, pot pancakes, pot pizza, and even pot fritters... The possibilities are limitless," one student said.
Smokers are innovative where their habit is concerned. "Stoners tend to get really creative when it comes to smoking," the student said. "You can take the most apathetic smoker and ask him to build a bong, and you will not find a more motivated, creative person."
The tools, instruments, and apparatuses used to smoke marijuana vary greatly. It is legal to purchase bongs, pipes, and hookahs as "tobacco accessories," and there are even several stores in Boston and Cambridge that sell these items exclusively. Pot users also construct their own smoking implements. Many are fond of gravity or water bongs, or just rolling a joint or blunt (a fat cigarette).
Bowls appear to be the most common method of smoking, perhaps due to their small size, transportability, and low price. However, the pot smell wafting through the air at most concert venues is probably coming from joints, which are easier to conceal and therefore safer to use. Students who smoke for the first time generally prefer using a bowl or smoking a joint, because the bong is commonly regarded as more difficult for first-time users.
Students' marijuana habits vary from smoking with friends or alone, and frequency ranges anywhere from several times a day to once a day, only on weekends, socially, and finally, the ubiquitous category of "smoking at concerts."
Pot smokers can't be characterized by a single definitive trait, although stereotypes abound. "I'm always surprised by who's clamoring to grab the bowl; it's always the kids who you'd totally not expect to be interested in it," one sophomore said.
