Too Cold For Chronic: Students Head Indoors To Blaze Up

[Senor Gribson]

from http://www.charlatan.ca/index.php?op...465&Itemid=148

With the temperature dropping, and winter on its way, Carleton’s marijuana users are getting edgy.

Their options for getting their daily dose of the drug are limited, and the smoking location along the canal is becoming more inconvenient to get to.

“Getting across to the canal for a joint has just become a huge mission,” said Corry Elliott, a first-year political science student.

He said with the temperature dropping into the negatives, students are becoming more and more reluctant to go outside, and especially off-campus, to smoke.

But the devoted marijuana smokers on residence are not ready to give up so easily, and are coming up with more inventive ways to get their fixes.

“Some people in my building come up with the craziest schemes,” said Jennifer Hayman, a first-year English student.

“Some have tried to smoke in the floor bathrooms, or even tried to spark up in their own rooms before.”

Although some of these attempts have been a success, some have also failed.

“If someone is found using marijuana in residence, they will be penalized according to the residence contract,” said David Sterritt, Carleton’s housing director.

“The contract specifically prohibits it, and prohibits anything going against the law of the land.”

The act of getting caught with marijuana on campus is not taken lightly. If an individual is found with marijuana, the drugs will be seized, and the individual ticketed or charged, said Len Boudreault, Carleton’s safety director.

Some severe cases, he said, could result in an individual having to appear in court or before the dean of students to plead his or her case.

“It is not an uncommon thing, but to quantify it is difficult,” he said, regarding drugs on campus.

While marijuana use on campus is forbidden, off-campus use is not within the university’s jurisdiction.

The ‘canal spot’ has historically been a haven for marijuana users at Carleton, providing a place where they can smoke without the worry of getting caught and penalized by the university.

“It’s going to be a very long winter,” said Mike Aubrey, a first-year law student, with a grin.