ILLEGAL DRUGS A COMMON PASTIME ON CAMPUS

Students Find They Can Use Regularly And Still Not Get Caught

Bob*, a student at UMBC, has wasted over 125 bags of popcorn covering up
the smell of marijuana in his room and hall.

"When you burn popcorn, the smell is so strong that it drowns out any
amount of pot you may smoke. The only thing you have to worry about is the
smoke detector," he said. A T-shirt can regularly be seen hanging over his
smoke detector and there is often a towel stuffed against the crack under
the door. In his room he has a three foot bong hidden behind his desk and a
small color-changing pipe in the back of his bottom drawer. But Bob is only
one of many who "smoke up" on campus.

Sally, another resident at UMBC, also uses burnt popcorn to cover up the
smell, but her own tricks as well. Sally often uses a device called a "doob
tube," which uses dryer sheets to cover up the smell. "You take a toilet
paper tube or paper towel tube and stuff it with dryer sheets. You then
exhale through it, which cancels out the smell of the weed," she said.

While officials are aware of the situation, they declined to comment on the
extent of drug use at UMBC or the actions taken.

A student in Chesapeake Hall, Jane, stated that two boys living across the
hall from her had been busted for marijuana multiple times, yet are still
on campus. "One night I came home to my room to find two police officers as
well as the community director speaking to the boys and searching their
room," she said. "Having been in their room before, I knew there was pot, a
pipe, cocaine and alcohol. The hall reeked of marijuana and it was obvious
what had gone on. Yet, four months later, they are still here and still
doing the same stupid stuff."

Jane also commented that she was unsure how this made her feel about the
actions being taken to stop drug use and its effects on others. "Their drug
use is not just harming themselves; it is a nuisance to all of us. They
constantly have people in and out of their rooms, at all hours of the
night. How can they act so suspiciously, and even get busted, yet not have
been kicked off campus long ago?"

Bob did admit that while marijuana is the only drug he uses, he knows
others who use more serious drugs. "One night we were having a little
party, mostly just smoking up and watching TV while stuffing our faces. All
of a sudden, these two boys pull out a mirror and start cutting lines of
cocaine on it with their campus cards," he said. "I couldn't decide if I
was more disturbed by the cocaine or by the fact that they were using their
campus ID to cut the lines."

Most on-campus student users interviewed only regularly use marijuana and
alcohol. When questioned as to what they do when high, they responded with
mostly the same answers. Watching TV and movies seemed to rank quite high
on the list, as well as taking "smoke rides." One student, Jack, explained:
"We just jump into someone's car and circle the loop while smoking."

Jane finds this to be one of the worst things that have to do with drug
use. She feels that while using drugs is not a smart thing to do, drug-use
is okay as long as it is kept behind closed doors. "While out driving, they
could easily hit a runner or another car.

There are other dangers besides car accidents to be considered concerning
smoking marijuana. "A few students and I went out sledding late one night
while high. I was totally numb, as were my friends. We stayed out way too
long, and got soaking wet. My friend even had to be treated for frostbite
because he didn't notice his hands had turned blue," Bob said.

Jack, Bob and many others still choose to run the risks associated with
drug use for many reasons. "I haven't gotten caught yet, and I don't think
I ever will." said Jack.

"I'm not addicted," said Bob, "I just enjoy doing it. I could quit whenever
I want, I just choose not to right now."

Jane thinks otherwise. "People will get caught and end up losing a lot of
opportunities and possibly ruining their lives. This is why I stay away
from drugs in general. I've got a lot more to live for and accomplish in my
life."

*Where only first names appear, names have been changed to protect the
identity of sources.