UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL: OU STUDENTS WHO SELL POT

When we were children, television and movies taught us that drug
deals typically follow a standard, impersonal formula: an order
placed by anonymous phone call, a trip to the bank to withdraw exact
cash, and finally, a wordless exchange on some dark corner.

But then we all grew up, came to Athens and realized that obtaining
drugs is quite a bit easier than we had ever imagined. Many Ohio
University students aren't only using illegal drugs, in this case,
predominately marijuana, but are selling them as well.

Students who deal say it's no big deal and it's a great way to make
money without getting a "real" job.

As one might expect, OU officials and the law, have a decidedly
different point of view. Though the Athens Police Department chose
not to respond for this series and the OU Police Department had no
available figures about marijuana arrests, the Student Code of
Conduct is proof enough that distribution of illegal substances
(including pot) on campus is a serious matter. It is labeled a Code A
offense in the student handbook, which could lead to suspension or
expulsion, even for a first-time offense.

As for the criminal repercussions, they vary case by case, though any
conviction for selling illegal drugs, including pot, carries the risk
of serious jail or prison time and a permanent felony record.

The reasons students are taking the risk to sell drugs vary as well,
but one thing is clear: there is a huge market here in Athens with
serious cash to be made. This carries on a long tradition in Athens,
where at least since the '60s, the occasional student has raised
extra money with drug sales, and numerous permanent residents have
lived off the profits of growing and selling pot and other drugs.

Asked about his illegal enterprise, an OU junior who sells marijuana
out of his off-campus apartment, responded, "It's pretty much just
economics. Instead of everyone getting weed from somewhere outside
Athens, since I buy weed to smoke anyway, I just buy extra, sell the
difference and make a profit. It's like an investment."

Like other drug-using or selling sources in this series, for obvious
reasons, this junior only consented to be interviewed if we agreed
not to identify him.

He explained that he has about 20 regular customers, mostly people he
met in his dorm sophomore year, which is when he started dealing. He
explained, though, that he frequently receives what he calls
"friend-of-a-friend" calls from people who got his number from
somebody else. He admitted that he is hesitant to sell to total
strangers, but he usually does it anyway.

"I like to know who I am selling to, because I'm putting myself out
there a little bit, so I need to trust that no one is going to screw
me over or turn me in or something," he said. The student added that
he has walked out of classes to go home and make a deal, and he
wishes that his life weren't so tied up by selling marijuana.

"I have to always be available. Sometimes I get calls in the middle
of the night from people who are like waiting outside my door," he explained.

Inside his home, he said, it's pretty obvious he deals drugs, though
he has never been caught. He has a safe in his room where he keeps
the large amounts of cash he brings in, a small scale to weigh out
the marijuana, plastic baggies, and a square Tupperware container
(about the size you might use for leftovers) filled with marijuana
that he keeps in his closet.

"I don't know too many people with scales and safes that don't deal,"
he laughed. "It's pretty much a giveaway."

A SENIOR PSYCHOLOGY STUDENT also sells marijuana out of her home. She
said she likes to keep things small and only sells to her roommates
and close friends.

"I only sell to the people I would smoke with anyway," she said. She
deals, she said, because it's easy for her to get her hands on large
quantities of marijuana in her hometown.

"I know people who grow it in their backyard, so I can get a lot of
it real cheap," she said.

She added that growing marijuana is something she has always wanted
to try, but she has heard it's difficult because the plant needs a
great deal of heat to thrive and because one individual plant only
produces a small amount of weed.

"It seems like something you have to put some money into... buy
several plants and heat lamps and stuff, and I'm not ready for that
yet," she said. Plus, she added, friends who have grown the plant in
their homes complain that the scent can become overbearing.

Another senior who sells marijuana is all about quality, not
quantity. He said he does research before purchasing any type of
marijuana, and he seeks out strands of the plant that are unique or
unusual in some way.

"If you just want to sell middies," he said, after explaining that
"middies" is a slang term for low-grade marijuana, "you're going to
make less money and have a harder time getting rid of it all."

However, he said, he is willing to put more money up front to get
higher-grade marijuana, sell it for more money and earn a better
profit. This is the strategy he has employed since his senior year of
high school. He then sold marijuana out of his dorm room freshman and
sophomore year, before moving off-campus and expanding his operation.

For him, dealing is strictly business. He quit smoking marijuana a
year ago and sells the drug just to "pay the bills."

"I quit smoking because it really does make you lazy,
non-productive," he said. "I may be a drug dealer, but I don't want
to be some stoner loser."

He broke his operation down money-wise and explained how it's worth
the risk -- and the temptation. On a quarter-pound of pot, he said,
he can net about $600 profit.

Since he doesn't smoke any of his own supply, he said he can count on
selling anywhere from two to five quarter pounds per week, depending
on what's available in the area.

"It's nice to be a college student who actually isn't broke," he
joked. "I'm not calling home to Mom and Dad to send me money... I
should be sending money to them."