Newspapers / Elon University Student Newspaper / Nov. 16, 1989, edition 1 / Page 9
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Foicus November- 16^ 1989 ''1 Marijuana is readily available to students Dana, Manley JC 225 Jane, an Elon junior, has been smoking marijuana for five years. She has used the drug occasionally in the past three years at Elon. "I don't consider myself a pot-head' because I really don’t smoke as much pot as people think," she said. "I know of people here who get high every ^sy -- that's getting high every ^ay for at least four or five years " and that's a lot." "Jane" smokes marijuana to put herself into a different frame of mind and suggests the reasons for usmg marijuana are similar to ^e reasons people drink alcohol. On September 30, 1988, 314 students in 14 classes at Elon Participated in a survey ^dministered through the Center Or Educational Research and valuation at the University of 'orth Carolina at Greensboro. I'm not surprised by the ^sults," said Jana Lynn Fields ^tterson, associate dean of student affairs. The results ^ Owed that alcohol is the most popular drug, followed by ^juana, tobacco and cocaine. 2n been used by ^•5 percent of students at Elon. a month of the survey, percent of the students „^^^eyed had used cocaine, er drugs" had been used by percent and marijuana was "I know of people here who get high every day - that's getting high every day for at least four or five years - and that's a lot. Elon junior currently being used by 34.1 percent of the students. Resident Director Gina Bruer and Patterson are both certilied in substance abuse counseling. Patterson hopes students can be counseled without going through the judicial system. "A good number of students on academic suspension have gone through our judicial system for alcohol, Patterson said. Students are being trained in peer counseling for substance abuse, including a planned program called "reefer madness, which deals with marijuana. In most cases, freshman are the leading group of substance abusers, followed by sopho mores, juniors and seniors. Marijuana use declines after the freshman year, rises again during the junior year. Patterson said the increase during the junior year might be due to the large number of juniors who move off campus. Marijuana is readily available to Elon students. "Kevin," a /: m j junior, buys marijuana from a friend in Burlington. "I pay $35 or $45 for a quarter ounce , which is usually what we buy," Kevin said. "I can get it anytime I want. I could find some within an hour." "I always get it from friends and usually for free. Most people who smoke it are more than hit. Sometimes I get it from my hometown where a few of my friends and acquaintances grow and sell marijuana," Jane said. "Claire," a freshman, smokes marijuana occasionally when she is not on campus. "It's different from everyday life. You get away from everything for awhile," she said. Photo by W'Ullain Hassell Most students said they smoke marijuana to get high. The reason given second most often was to feel good, followed by relaxation, celebrating and to be sociable. "It's really social," Kevin said. "It's used before you go into a situation." Mushrooms are slowly gaining popularity “y Scott Kinkade JC 22S eve They grow in damp and moist acc easily than marijuana and because there are no are slowly popularity on campus, ^^tte^”^ to Jana Lynn Fields associate dean of ent ^fairs. "In our recent survey, which was ■■ to how many people have experimented with hallucinogens -- 14% of the 330 that were surveyed said they had experimented with hallucinogenic drugs, including mushrooms and LSD in that category." Mushrooms are more expen sive than the cheapest form of LSD, costing $40 for a quarter ounce, said Billy, a student who experiments with the drug. "It takes $10 to get a high from mushrooms and is considered safer, since LSD is of chemical origin and mushrooms are of natural origin." When intoxicated by a mushroom, a person feels in a state of well-being. Other effects are that lights are brighter and the user becomes more awrre of surroundings. He sees trails of hands and wavy slow patterns of motion. He laughs a lot and his mind undergoes changes of reality. The user starts to see different points of view about life; sometimes this becomes very scary. "What you have to do is accept responsibility of yourself and to remember that you have taken a drug and that the effects will wear off in its time and you will be the same person you were before your trip," Billy said. "That is true," Patterson said. "A user of mushrooms feels no side-effects, such as a hangover from alcohol. Mush rooms are non-addictive, but you can suffer from stomach cramps and eventual unconsciousness, followed by death, if you are poisoned by eating the wrong type of mushroom." They look like regular mushrooms, with a cap on top. But how does a mushroom taste? "Well to be honest, it tastes like cow manure smells," Billy said. "What you have to do is roll up the cap, which is the most psychoactive part of the mushroom, and swallow it whole, following a Coke or a beer - as long as you don't encounter the horrible taste, which is the downfall of the mushroom." Mushrooms leave the same length of intoxication, about eight hours, as LSD. Because of the hallucino genic effects of mushrooms, Billy would like to tell a main viewpoint of a user: "You did it to yourself, so accept full responsibility of what happens to you."
Elon University Student Newspaper
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Nov. 16, 1989, edition 1
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