LIVING THE HIGH LIFE

41 Percent of Students Say They Have Used Marijuana Despite Negative
Side Effects Linked to the Drug.

Many students are beginning to compare smoking weed to drinking beer
or smoking cigarettes, causing the illegal substance to become more
accepted in the residential community, several students said.

Marijuana or THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) as those who know it
best, is rapidly becoming the most popular substance in use. Only
tobacco and alcohol rival it on Vanderbilt's campus, and according to
the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 37 percent of Americans
have tried it.

The drug, which travels to the bloodstream and attaches to cannabinoid
nerve cells in the brain, has the most dramatic effects on coordinated
movement, memory, learning, sensory and time perception and pleasure,
since the cannabinoid receptors are most prevalent in those regions of
the brain.

Over 41 percent of Vanderbilt students say they have used the drug
before, 18 percent in the last month, according to the Core Survey.

"Weed's no different than alcohol or like, cigarettes," said one
student. "If a chain (tobacco) smoker told me that weed was bad for
me, that I should quit, I'd laugh in his face."

And so goes the typical response. Many people speak of a 'culture of
acceptance' in modern society, to such an extent that some wonder if
there is a difference between weed and other legal substances.

"I think there are pockets of people on campus who are very accepting
of marijuana use," said Director of Alcohol, Tobacco, and other Drug
Prevention Jeanine Atkinson. "It has the reputation of being a very
mellow drug, and by appearance alone, no one sees the problem."

Those problems, according to the National Center on Addiction and
Substance Abuse, range from loss of cognitive skills to increased risk
of lung cancer and heart attacks, and as some experts have begun to
stress, this is not your parents' pot.

THC content in commercial-grade marijuana has risen by 50 percent,
from an average of 3.71 percent in 1985 to 5.57 percent in 1998.
Higher concentrations of THC can make psychotic and other reactions to
marijuana more likely, according to the NCASA.

But all of that seems just window dressing for users, who say the
medical concerns come last.

"Being high is like the ultimate chill where you don't have to worry
about anything or anybody," said a student. "You laugh at things you
would never laugh at before, and you tend to notice things a lot more,
which is why I like to get high before I go to a concert, because you
can hear more in the music."

Vanderbilt "will impose disciplinary sanctions on students, ranging
from a warning or reprimand, to disciplinary probation, suspension or
expulsion and referral for state or federal prosecution, for violation
of its alcohol and controlled substances policy," according to the
Student Code.

But most students agree that there is little risk in smoking marijuana
on campus, depending on how attentive a resident adviser is.

"I smoked a joint once walking around campus," said a student. "It was
late, and I really didn't care, but no one else did either."

According to a user, the going rate at Vanderbilt is 50 bucks for an
eighth of an ounce, or about enough to get a regular (once a day) user
through a week.

That may sound expensive, but many students say they spend twice that
amount weekly on alcohol; unlike alcohol, though, weed just leaves you
hungry, not hung over.

As for where it comes from, most students don't need to look farther
than a few doors down.

"My freshman year, there were three guys dealing it on the same
floor," said one student. "It's not hard to find, even if you're not
looking."

Also unlike alcohol, though, marijuana can stay in your system for
weeks, or even longer, and smokers may be feeling the effects without
knowing it.

"It's hard for a marijuana user to see the negatives because their
brain is impaired all the time," Atkinson said. "THC accumulates in
the lipid lining in your body, and the more you smoke, the more builds
up--it's so slow to leave the body.

And though a typical 'high' will last no more than an hour or two,
there's no guarantee that THC won't show up on a drug test a good
month later, Atkinson said.

There is hardly a general opinion on marijuana in the medical
community right now, but many doctors see benefits only for the most
ill of patients.

According to the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana, patients
suffering from AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy could
reap considerable benefits from the drug, while at the same time
increasing their risks of mental disorders, pulmonary infections and
decreasing their immune system response in general.

And though the chances that any students at Vandy use THC for medical
reasons, the likelihood that they will be affected is no less real,
Atkinson said.

"We haven't studied all the chemicals (over 400) in marijuana, and we
still don't know exactly what's going on in there," she said. "It's a
pretty complicated drug."

With marijuana use so widespread on campus, though, many say getting
high has already become just another part of their college lives --
and they don't see a reason to give it up.

"I get high after all my work is done," said one student. "I mean, I
would never go to class high -- I try to keep school separate from all
that."