MARIJUANA USE NOT FLAGGING ON UW CAMPUS

Over the past year, UW-Madison students acquired a reputation of
engaging in heavy alcohol and drug use after being crowned the No. 1
party school by the Princeton Review and number two of the Top 10
Cannabis colleges by High Times magazine.

Following the confiscation of an estimated $500,000 worth of marijuana
in Blanchardville, Wis., last Thursday, Lafayette County Sheriff Scott
Pedley said the area has been experiencing a general trend of
increased illicit drug use. Two gun-wielding intruders, who were in
their twenties, were shot and killed by the owner of the marijuana
growing operation.

Despite increased drug use in this southwestern Wisconsin town,
UW-Madison statistics show marijuana use on campus is lower than some
students might think, according to a Policy Alternatives Community
Education survey.

According to the PACE survey, 25 percent of students admitted to
smoking marijuana in the last month.

"The number one drug of choice on campus is really alcohol, but for
students that use marijuana, the typical frequency is about once a
month or less," said Wendy Janosik, senior counselor specializing in
addictions at the University Health Services Counseling and
Consultation Services.

Janosik noted students who "wake and bake" are in a "different league"
than students who smoke marijuana socially and less frequently.

The PACE survey revealed approximately 10 percent of students on
campus abstain from alcohol completely, while approximately 58 percent
of the remaining students usually binge when drinking.

UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health Pharmacology professor
June Dahl said marijuana may adversely affect students' academic
performances due to the mood altering elements and substances. Dahl
cites drowsiness, impaired thinking, learning capability and slower
reaction times as possible negative affects of marijuana.

The PACE survey concluded drinking causes approximately 33 percent of
students to miss a class and 30 percent to get behind in schoolwork.

Though Janosik said drinking is more prevalent among students than
smoking, she warned marijuana addictions can "sneak in" over time.
Because alcohol causes violent actions, Janosik said alcoholics
realize their addictions sooner.

Alcoholics are forced to confront their problem, while marijuana users
move "further along in their dependence."

Dahl said there is no conclusive evidence directly linking marijuana
to lung cancer but smoking marijuana may lead to tobacco use, a drug
that has been proven to increase the risk for lung cancer.

"There are more carcinogenic hydrocarbons in marijuana than in
nicotine containing cigarettes," Dahl said.