IT'S A FATTY FREE-FOR-ALL

Local Post-Secondary Schools Mellow Out On Pot Possession

ROLL IT. Lick it. Light it. Smoke it.

Could this be preparatory instruction for students on their way to university?

Due to a current stay of proceedings, people found in simple possession of
"personal" amounts of marijuana (under 30 grams) will not be charged,
according to Ottawa police Staff Sgt. Monique Ackland.

And Ottawa's big-three post-secondary schools have not moved to prohibit
marijuana from campus.

"That's why it's called higher learning," said 19-year-old University of
Ottawa criminology student Kevin Wahl.

Previously, Algonquin College issued tickets or called the police when
students were found using pot, said Adam Gal, president of the students'
association.

"As of now, I think security is saying, 'take it somewhere else' and asking
students to leave the property."

A decision by Ontario Superior Court Justice Stephen Rogin, handed down May
16, upheld an earlier judgment which, in effect, made possession of 30
grams of pot or less unregulated in Ontario until the Court of Appeal
reviews the ruling.

"Obviously what we will do is follow the law," said U of O spokesman Bob
Ledrew. "If Parliament passes the law, we'll abide by it and come up with a
policy that works."

'COME TO CLASS'

Carleton University's security services have a memorandum of understanding
with the Ottawa police stating both forces will uphold the same laws,
explained director of university safety Len Boudreault. "They'd (security)
react in the same way as police," he said.

Students are, however, governed by codes of conduct which provide each
school with mechanisms to discipline undesirable behaviour.

"I don't think we'll be extreme in our rules," Algonquin's vice-president
of student life and human resources, Chris Warburton, said of the college's
non-aggressive strategy.

Students under the influence of marijuana are welcome "to come to class if
they could cope," he explained, but disruptive students would not be tolerated.

"We would discourage the overt use and I don't think we would want to
pursue it further than that."

In contrast to the capital's approach, McMaster University, in Hamilton,
has chosen to fine students found in possession of pot on campus.

In a controversial twist, particularly with cannabis use among students on
the rise according to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, not all
students agree with the laissez-faire attitude adopted by their schools.

"You're supposed to be here to learn and if you're stoned out of your mind
you won't be learning," said 18-year-old first-year Carleton arts student
Lauren Lee. "I don't think the two (pot and school) mix."

WRONG MESSAGE

Carleton political science student Paul Piasko, 20, worried it will send
the wrong message to young double-cohort students and increase the amount
of drugs being sold on campus. Eighteen-year-old Sikender Kahn said the
schools will gain a bad reputation if students are high on campus. "It
should be frowned upon," said the U of O commerce student.

"I don't think that's right. It's just like drinking," she said of pot use
on her campus which is now almost entirely dry.

But for other students this is a time they thought would never come.

"I shouldn't be hiding in the corners. I shouldn't feel like I'm less of a
person (because I smoke pot)," said Jody Pressman, 22, a fourth-year
Carleton law and political science student. Pressman plans to start the
university's third Carleton Cannabis Club since 1996 this year and can't
believe students don't know the law has been stricken.

"I would like to organize something on campus. A beacon for responsible
use," he said.

Toby Craig and Peter Zigoumis, both 23-year-old third-year criminology
students at the U of O, are pleased with the developments.

"It adds more freedom for people's decisions if they want to spark a doob
before class. That's pretty cool," said Craig.

For those concerned that pot should be banned from campus because of its
effect on intelligence and concentration, a recent study, published in
April's edition of the Canadian Medical Association Journal, by Carleton's
Dr. Peter Fried suggests pot has insignificant long-term effects on IQ.

"Light" smokers experienced a slight increase in IQ, while "heavy" smokers
realized a slight decrease, though decreased scores returned to normal
after they abstained.

This shows that "marijuana has no long-term effect on global intelligence,"
Fried explained.

This does not however, suggest that chronic pot smoking has no effect on
learning.

"It anesthetizes brain cells," Dr. Richard Rowland, manager of health
services at Algonquin said. It will be harder for students to form memories
and recall what they've learned if they're high, he said.

Marc Emery, president of the B.C. Marijuana Party and owner of Cannabis
Culture magazine and Pot-TV, will be on Parliament Hill Sept. 25, at 4
p.m., for the final stop on his Summer of Legalization Tour 2003.

Emery's stopped in major cities across the country to smoke up in front of
local police stations, daring officers to arrest him.