POT DEALERS DON'T CARD

Adam Yerkie loves pot. He's been smoking it since Grade 10. According
to him, for people under the legal drinking age, it's more readily
available than beer.

"When you're that young, it's pretty much easier to get a hold of weed
than it is alcohol," says the 19-year-old journalism student. "You
don't have to find somebody who's legal or get an ID."

Eric Grava, 18, agrees - although he notes that in his first week in
campus residence it's been a little harder to obtain his favourite
plant.

"It's just a matter of finding a trusty hook up," says the electrical
engineering student. He's sure this won't be a problem for long. "You
can tell who's who," he smirks.

Yerkie and Grava, both in their first year at Ryerson, now live in
Pitman Hall. But they're not about to change their habits because of
new surroundings. "If I have [marijuana], I'll probably smoke every
day," admits Yerkie. "Things like homework and my job are going to
come first. But as long as you're responsible, it's no problem."

Responsible use includes not smoking on school property.

"I haven't toked up in residence yet," says Grava. "We're always
off-campus - we go for a walk down to a parking lot or something."

Yerkie says residence staff doesn't seem particularly bothered by his
recreational choice.

"I think as long as you're not smoking in your room or smoking on
campus, they're pretty much going to let it go."

It's no secret that a lot of drinking occurs in residence. But Grava
insists pot makes for a superior buzz.

"I feel better when I'm high. I can control myself," he
says.

Yerkie thinks marijuana is a positive alternative to drinking. "I
think it's a little healthier than alcohol," he says. "You don't puke.
You don't lie on the floor and drown in your vomit. You don't wake up
with a hangover."

Grava even claims pot is cheaper than alcohol. "You can pay $5 and get
a joint, and a joint is enough to get two people high," he says.

Despite these perceived advantages, Yerkie doesn't think the
unprecedented number of underage double cohort students in residence
will automatically mean an increase in marijuana use.

"It's pretty much the same ratio as in high school," he says. "There
are always more people drinking than there is smoking."

Grava thinks pot smoking is on the rise, but not because of the kids
fresh out of high school.

"I think it will become more popular& just because people are getting
so lazy about it these days," he says. "I think people will just stop
caring."

Candice Laughlin, eighth floor president at Pitman Hall, holds a
different view.

"It's illegal," says the 21-year-old architecture student. "People
think they can get away with it because it's maybe not as serious a
drug as some other ones. But it's illegal - that's the bottom line."

While Laughlin says she's never personally encountered marijuana use
in residence, she believes it would be easy to catch.

"You can smell everything," she says. "If someone's smoking in their
room, it would be blatantly obvious. You're going to get caught."

Residence Life Facilitator Lucy Jakupi says that her staff is trained
to enforce all residence policies equally and notes the anti-drug
policy is strictly enforced.

According to Jakupi, consequences for being caught smoking pot in
residence vary according to the situation. There is a minimum $100
fine and an automatic letter of warning. But the guilty student could
also be forced to attend educational workshops or do community
service. Further penalties can include probation or even immediate
eviction.

"I think we've been caught," Yerkie says with a grin. "We were on
campus and I didn't know we were on campus."

Grava isn't worried yet. "We're not really sure, we don't have the
inside scoop," he says. "But that's what we're thinking 'cause we're
paranoid, I guess."