Students at the University of Colorado and Colorado State University have formed a group called SAFER (Safer Alternatives for Enjoyable Recreation) which promotes the idea that if you’re going to get messed up, puffing a joint is better for you than chugging a beer.
Both CU and CSU had a student die last year from alcohol poisoning. Their deaths led to several changes aimed at curtailing alcohol abuse on both campuses and to proposals in the state legislature to tighten penalties for underage drinking.
“Tons of kids are dying every year from alcohol, and we just think there is an alternative to that,” said Havi Nelson, a CSU junior and a leader in the petition drive. …At least 1,400 college student deaths each year are linked to alcohol, according to the National Institutes of Health.
“If a fraternity told a freshman to go into the woods and smoke a pound of pot, he is not going to die from that,” said [SAFER Executive Director Mason] Tvert, a recent University of Virginia graduate. “He’ll fall asleep before that happens.”
But, Tvert said, there has never been a reported case of a student dying from a marijuana overdose.
OK, now you know that of course I’m going to agree with Tvert. However, I don’t think there’s going to be a huge change in fraternity culture from aggressive testosterone feats of binge drinking to mellow giggling circles of stoners. No frat is going to include marijuana overindulgence as a hazing ritual. The reason why frats have these drinking competitions is that there’s an element of machismo associated with being able to “hold one’s liquor”. There’s nothing macho or challenging about baking one’s brain to a Cheechian crisp.
It would be nice if college stoners could catch a break, but I don’t think it’s going to result in less alcohol deaths. They’re position seems to be that one recreational drug is much like another and I say the two are as dissimilar as apples and oranges. Most the stoners I know aren’t much into drinking and most the alcoholics I know aren’t much into smoking.
Furthermore, as long as marijuana is illegal and the HEA (Higher Education Act — no pun intended on Congress’ part) is in effect, college stoners could still be arrested by the state or feds, and their student aid will still be withheld for a drug conviction. That alone will keep more college kids drinking than smoking.
Others, however, are skeptical that marijuana is not as dangerous as alcohol.
“It’s certainly not harmless,” said Anne Hudgens, CSU’s executive director for campus life.
Students who use marijuana consistently have a harder time in classes, their grades fall and their relationships plummet, Hudgens said.
Oh, really? I’d like to see Hudgens’ data for that assertion. There seems to be thouands of lawyers, doctors, professors, and politicians whose college careers weren’t affected by their marijuana use.
