Marijuana, Mary Jane, pot, herb, bud, weed – whatever the name, there may be a new “green club” coming to campus.
Loyola students hoping to charter a chapter of the National Organization for Marijuana Reform Laws have already gained significant student support – more than 200 responses from e-mails and personal signatures. Phillip Dynia, chairman of the political science department, has agreed to be the adviser.
According to organizers of NORML, they have received little negative feedback.
“We (NORML) do not encourage or condone any illegal activity in any form,” said Ben Gold, political science senior and NORML advocate.
“What we advocate is civil, legal reform of laws that we believe infringe on people’s rights. We are a political activist organization and not just the ‘pot club.'”
Gold said he sees many positive outcomes to marijuana being legalized.
“I see a huge opportunity to generate revenue for the state in terms of legalizing it, regulating it and taxing it,” he said. “Marijuana is the number one cash crop in the United States of America, and the money goes entirely to a black market.”
Despite the potential revenue, a recent study of college students from the National Institute on Drug Abuse suggests that heavy marijuana users suffer from impaired critical skills related to memory, attention, and learning. And the study also shows that marijuana smokers are likely to inhale three times the amount of tar that cigarette smokers do.
According to NIDA’s Web site, “A study of 129 college students found that, for heavy users of marijuana (those who smoked the drug at least 27 of the preceding 30 days), critical skills related to attention, memory, and learning were significantly impaired even after they had not used the drug for at least 24 hours.
“The heavy marijuana users in the study had more trouble sustaining and shifting their attention and in registering, organizing, and using information than did the study participants who had used marijuana no more than three of the previous 30 days. As a result, someone who smokes marijuana once daily may be functioning at a reduced intellectual level all of the time.”
“Making marijuana illegal forces kids to associate themselves with the criminal underground that would just as soon rob them or take advantage of them. Just because smoking pot is illegal, it doesn’t make it morally wrong,” Gold said.
Marijuana legalization has long been a controversial issue. Many students and staff who were opposed to the charter did not wish to comment on the record. University police also declined to give an official stance.
“For every reason there is to say that marijuana ought to be illegal, there’s ten more arguments that say it should be legal,” Gold said. “We are starting NORML, because we believe in it.”
There have been a few who have voiced opposition to the club. In a Maroon guest column, history junior Brad Zarin said that the potential chartering of NORML would be irresponsible.
“While I am an adamant proponent of the free speech amendment, I believe it is inappropriate for the university to support any organization that advocates illegal activity,” he said.
Other students have voiced their support.
“I feel strongly about approving a charter for NORML on our campus,” said Sarah Roy, psychology senior and SGA Arts and Sciences representative. “It would show that we are an open minded university.”
Recently, supporters have run into several difficulties, especially those who make a living selling pipes, water pipes or other smoking devices.
According to the July 2003 issue of Rolling Stone, “Just three weeks before the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Federal Government unleashed Operation Headhunter and Operation Pipedreams – the largest anti-paraphernalia offensive in U.S. history.”
U.S. law defines drug paraphernalia as any item “primarily intended” for the consumption of illegal substances.
Many argue that anything from an apple to a soda can be used to smoke marijuana.
Sean Motola, manager of The Mushroom, says he has problems with these laws, although they have not directly affected his business.
“They need to come up with a clearer word of the law,” he said. “As it is now, the wording is very vague.”
Other area shops, such as the Herb Import Company, have reported the effects of recent laws.
“We have absolutely been affected,” said Dennis Zaffuto, an employee of the downtown Herb Import location.
“We have not been able to receive products because of these new reforms, and a lot of product makers have gone out of business,” Zaffuto said.
Zaffuto also claims that shops such as the Herb have come under fire for selling products that promise to help users pass drug tests.
He said that certain government officials may be overstepping boundaries into people’s private lives with the war on drugs.
“This is a culture that has been in place for over 300 years,” Zaffuto said. “There’s no way they can come in here and uproot these shops.”
University Police’s Crime Statistics Report revealed 34 drug-related violations in the residence halls.
“Cases are down from last year,” said Robert Reed, director of Residential Life. “It’s not a regular thing.”
But Reed also said that university policy is bound by the law.
“Unless the laws change in some way and make it legal, we are not going to change,” he said.
