<p>@rigaudon </p>
<p>The answers are confusing because the topic is confusing (and vast). I find the national debate about smoking and weed to be similarly contradictory. Weed is illegal (unless it’s medicinal). Cigarettes are legal (unless you’re in New York City). There’s a lot of moralizing and health-mongering that goes on in both areas, and topics are pretty grey. </p>
<p>Facts?
- Some Oberlin students smoke weed. Not everyone, not “everyone except for lesbians,” and not no one. I don’t have statistics on who, or how much people smoke, but from a student perspective… many people have tried weed. <em>Few</em> smoke it regularly.
Given weed is illegal, the 30 ft rule is both valid and invalid. You don’t want to smoke up in your room because of fire concerns and annoying your hallmates, but you don’t want to smoke outside because it’s illegal. People approach the issue in different ways. </p>
<ul>
<li>Some Oberlin students smoke cigarettes. Yeah. It’s legal. It’s annoying, smelly and cancerous, so it’s regulated. Co-ops are a gray zone as they make up their own regulations. While the 30 ft rule is campus-wide (it includes co-ops), it’s mixed with other college regulations that are put up for debate. </li>
</ul>
<p>Oberlin is not unique, in terms of drug use. We aren’t all stoners. We don’t all get plastered. (In fact, I think students drink phenomenally less here than at other schools.) But we’re more open towards talking about this stuff. We don’t keep secrets. So the things you hear are <em>anecdotes</em>. Personal opinions. And this is the internet. If you ask 4 people, you get 6 answers.</p>
<p>At Oberlin, we like to talk about it, and we need to, to keep ourselves healthy. At the beginning of the year, there’s a show called “The OC” about rules and regulations at Oberlin. It’s funny, run by students, and it talks honestly about use and abuse on campus. We’re not a dry college, but we’re not a wet one. Part of growing up is learning how to consume responsibly. Talking about it means learning about it. Discourse and conversation lead to learning, not secrets and harsh rules. </p>
<p>Disclosure?
I’ve smoked weed before. I don’t think it’s evil. It makes the Discovery Chanel even more awesome than before. But I can’t remember the last time I smoked up. Maybe in the summer? Possibly in the spring? I don’t know. I’ve never bought weed.</p>
<p>I’ve smoked cigarettes before. Rarely, and only a pack a month. I haven’t since June. I’ve cut back on my stress level, and any urge I’ve had to smoke is gone.</p>
<p>I drink, from time to time. While some of my friends drink more than I, it’s nothing compared to my friends from home. And as a young woman, I’m much more dubious about alcohol than anything else. Weed doesn’t make people violent. Cigarettes don’t create dubiously consensual situations. I’ve never felt threatened at Oberlin. People here are respectful.</p>
<p>This is only my opinion. I am only one person. But I’ve been here for 4 years, and I honestly love this place. While it’s not perfect, it’s one of the best places I’ve ever been. </p>
<p>(PS: I have no idea what an “intellectual druggy” is.)</p>