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Joint Affairs
Posted by CN Staff on November 14, 2002 at 10:11:26 PT
By Annie Westhouse, Tribune Staff
Source: Marquette Tribune 
Most students have heard the warnings about marijuana. They know what the medical studies say. Nearly all have experienced the effects firsthand or knows someone who has. In 2001, the Harvard School of Public Health released a study showing a 22 percent increase of marijuana use among college students between 1993 and 1999. However, officials at many schools, including Marquette, say the increase is exaggerated and that little has changed over the years.
"There is not much of an increase in drug use," said Russ Shaw, associate director of the Department of Public Safety. "There may be a small increase, but it has stayed about the same." Still, few dispute that pot users are out there. "I know a lot of people who use marijuana," said "Travis," a Marquette junior who asked his real name not be used. "There are not a ton of everyday users, but there are so many recreational users at the school the police would be fools to think these drugs are not being used more often." Despite the fact that students have been taught for years about the dangers of marijuana through Drug Abuse Resistance Education and similar programs around the nation, marijuana use remains prevalent. "I get high because it's like putting your mind into a totally different state," said "Mike," a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "It's not like anything you could feel with just alcohol." Most smokers said the feeling was unlike any they had experienced. "It's so neat just to sit back and not worry about anything," said James, a freshman at the University of Kentucky. He said the only way to describe being high is "not thinking at all." "There is so much I can do when I'm high," Mike said. "The possibilities are endless for me. I can be much more creative with my stories and even with my ideas in general." Most pot smokers keep their activities from their parents and other adults who would try to make their child quit. "No one is stupid here," Travis said. "When I go to smoke, I know better than to just do it on the street or in a dorm room." Most students know when and where to smoke to minimize the likelihood of getting caught. Shaw said he has not come into contact with dealers while working at DPS, students who spoke to the Tribune said they could get marijuana whenever they needed it - day or night. "I have close friends who call me up whenever they need some," said "Fred," a Marquette sophomore and marijuana dealer. "They know that I'll give them good stuff that's not laced." The dealer said his friends bring other students to him because they know he can be trusted. "In the business it's all about trust," Fred said. "If they trust you and you?re honest, you can make a lot of money in one night." "I get my weed from back home," Travis said. "I just don't know if I trust the people here, but there are a lot of people here who know people who hook them up. It's actually a big business here." Like binge drinking or cigarette smoking, marijuana use is often seen as something people out of college generally do not do. "I stopped smoking this year," said "Amanda," a Marquette senior. "I'm graduating in May and it's time I stopped trying to get out of the world and start living in it." For others, the drug is harder to kick. The release some users feel can be overpowering and the idea of living without it is not an option. "I like to smoke," said one student. "There is no need for me to stop now or in the future. This is a part of my life and it has been for a while. I like where my life has been and where it's going." "Why would I stop something that is working?" Source: Marquette Tribune (WI)Author: Annie Westhouse, Tribune StaffPublished: Thursday, November 14, 2002 Copyright: 2002 Marquette UniversityContact: marquettetribune hotmail.comWebsite: http://www.marquette.edu/stumedia/tribune/CannabisNews - Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #2 posted by Dan B on November 14, 2002 at 14:21:29 PT:
Why not?
For others, the drug is harder to kick. The release some users feel can be overpowering and the idea of living without it is not an option. "I like to smoke," said one student. "There is no need for me to stop now or in the future. This is a part of my life and it has been for a while. I like where my life has been and where it's going." "Why would I stop something that is working?" Notice the discrepancy between these two statements. The first invokes the notion that cannabis is so addicting that many are simply powerless to overcome its vice-like grip on their poor little psyches. The pot smokers are victims of a terrible drug, it suggests. But look at the quotation used to "back up" that statement. Here, a student admits to smoking the herb and says he or she has no desire to quit, either now or in the future. This student does not seem to have a problem at all; after all, he or she says that "I like where my life has been and where it's going." There is no problem here. It is not that the "drug" has its "evil grip" on this student. The student simply knows how to smoke up on a regular basis without causing harm to his or her daily life. Where is the harm in that?Answer: there is none."Why would I stop something that is working?" Indeed, why?Dan B
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Comment #1 posted by pokesmotter on November 14, 2002 at 11:50:48 PT:
this is comedy
i love how every in the article was refered to as "amanda" or "mike." if i was quoted in a newspaper about how i smoked weed i wouldnt care if they used my name really. when i first came to college nobody on my floor knew i smoked. i got to know them better and eventually they figured it out or i told them. most didnt think of me as any different. i related to this article in a few ways actually. i would not smoke in my dorm room because i don't want to get caught. want ot hear something wild? if i get caught at school here with more than 2.5 grams i will get charged with a FELONY!!! wow that would haunt me. i wouldn't be able to vote or get a decent job. just for smoking pot. plus if i had any financial aid that would get cancelled and i would be royally screwed. it is unfortunate my state (illinois) has not decriminalized weed hardly at all. will i keep on smoking you ask? you know it! i just recently got some good bud for the first time in a while too so i am set.
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