'POT'TENTIAL FOR TROUBLE

With a growing number of students on campus below the legal drinking age, a
recent study carried out by Queen's University and Health Canada raised
concerns that many teens are turning to alternative methods of
intoxication. The study confirmed that marijuana has become the drug of
choice for Canadian teens, which the National Organization for the Reform
of Marijuana Laws in Canada claims is promoted by the government's
confusing stance on legalizing the drug.

While the federal government has waffled back and forth on the issue, there
has been no flexibility or change in the approach of Mac Security Services
to the drug.

"In normal society, the courts are no longer prosecuting marijuana
possession, not because it's any less illegal, but because they simply
don't have the time," said Bill Armstrong, operations manager for the MSS.
Regarding marijuana use on campus, Armstrong pointed out that the MSS could
only comment on the cases they see, but that "marijuana use has increased
over the last two years, but it's a steady increase, not a scary jump."

Security Services has always maintained a zero tolerance policy on
marijuana use and possession. According to sergeant David Jenkins of MSS,
all marijuana offences are treated as criminal code offences with the
individual arrested under the Controlled Drugs and Substances act in the
Criminal Code.

"We have to be more strict due to the environment, for those who study here
and want to behave themselves," said Armstrong. "[Marijuana use] isn't out
of control, by any extent." The MSS is confident that the steps they've
taken so far have been sufficient to control the situation, and Armstrong
laughs when asked if he's ever smoked marijuana himself: "no, I'm too old I
guess."

MSU vice-president academic Tommy Piribauer and vice-president finance
Umair Khan had little to offer on the subject

"I haven't heard anything to tell you the truth," commented Khan. "We
always get stuff from the community, more--so about drinking and students
being drunk at night, but I haven't heard anything about a marijuana issue
yet."

Without receiving any complaints or issues from students or the surrounding
community, it's difficult for the MSU to react.

"The MSU's focus for marijuana education has been mainly through Student
Health Education Centre," said Piribauer.

Added Khan, "there haven't been any formal steps to deal with that issue
specifically just because it hasn't come up yet." Both commented on the
fact that they didn't perceive marijuana to be a serious issue at McMaster.

"[The MSU's] basic stance has been to educate first, since it's better to
be proactive than reactive," said Piribauer.

Khan agreed, "I think the lack of media coverage really points toward this
issue being dealt with already."

Roger Prasad, Health and Wellness Education Coordinator for McMaster's
Health and Wellness Centre, expressed concern with the safety of marijuana:
"Weed is perceived as non-harmful, although there have only been very
limited long-term studies. Even now there is some research which says it
may not be as harmless as many people think.

"I'd like to denormalize [sic] the train of thought that it's harmless,
both in the short and long term," said Prasad.

According to Prasad, the most recent statistics about marijuana use on
campus are from 1998. These seven-year-old statistics showed that 28.7 per
cent of the McMaster students used marijuana at least once over the year,
with a peak in residence (at 35.8 per cent). The least likely to smoke pot
were, unsurprisingly, students who still lived at home with their parents.

Since McMaster's statistics are out of date, the Sil took it upon itself to
conduct an informal survey of several random students in the student
centre. Out of the 36 people polled, 25 per cent admitted to using
marijuana while at McMaster, and 66 per cent knew at least one person who
is currently using weed. While only one individual felt that there was a
marijuana problem at McMaster, 55 per cent felt there was no problem here.

"It's obviously not healthy, but it's better than smoking or binge
drinking," said one marijuana user who asked that her name be withheld.
"McMaster has been pretty good about its marijuana policy. They took the
right course, since it is still illegal, but they're not being Nazis about it."

From another student, "university is a party environment, and it may be
harder to drink than to score pot."