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ticipation of such a move by county officials, and view its possibility as a mere shutdown on the ease with which they can obtain it; they are prepared to simply plant their own private patches in well secluded areas with the seeds they now have. Some make it simpler by growing the product in their apartments..
OTHERS, WHO find the local product too "weak" for their liking. have obtained marijuana from summer trips to Mexico or coastal cities of the U.S., usually at great cost. In addition, unconfirmed reports indicate that there are two, possibly three, individuals who are "pushers" locally. Their main item is the "nickel bag," a supply of potent marijuana costing five dollars, and which is enough for 10 to 15 "joints"—or cigarettes, depending on whether the user chooses to mix his pot with tobacco. A "high" (the sensation of being under the elation-giving properties of marijuana) usually requires the average user to smoke two such joints.
One girl, says a current pot-smoker, had spent nearly as much on "outside" marijuana as she did on her KU education. She graduated last year.
Earlier in this article it was stated that the Bohemian student is less likely to use marijuana than the "straight types." Although this appears to be true on the national scene, it is not so apparent at KU.
The beatnik, as stated earlier, usually shys away from frequent use of pot because he finds that it serves only to intensify his dejection over his society. But at KU, there appears to be a need for such dejection.
THE REV. THOMAS WOODWARD, who heads the KU Episcopal Center, has had experience in counseling users of marijuana here. "I think that some—but not all—of those who smoke it have a need to hit bottom." Woodward says. "Marijuana helps them get there.
"Unfortunately, somebody who has such a need might start on marijuana and end up with something physiologically addictive. If I wanted to hit bottom, I'd do it through alcohol, rather than drugs," he said.
"I don't think marijuana in itself is a moral issue." Woodward says. "I think though, that it is related to other aspects of a student's situation. It serves as a warning light.
"I stand alongside a guy who is taking it. Condemning somebody who is using it is not helpful to anybody." Woodward said.
WHY DO the KU "beatniks" differ from their New York and Berkeley counterparts in the approach to the drug? One explanation is obvious; at KU, the Bohemian or existentialist is more profoundly alone than his cohorts in the more liberal, metropolitan areas. There are fewer of his kind with whom to associate, and he is more flagrantly rejected by local society. Hence, he is given to rebellion that is personal and bitter, and attempts the trip to bottom that Father Woodward mentions.
While the Bohemian student appears most predominant among KU pet smokers, there are noticeable exceptions. One confirmed user, mentioned earlier, could be a "typical KU student" were it not for his use of marijuana.
"I get turned on about once a month." he says, "I take it only when I'm in a good mood. It helps me keep a sunny outlook on life, and gives me confidence in myself. The old story of it leading to heroine or cocaine is ridiculous. I would never touch that stuff. I don't think its even a slight habit, either. I've never had a compulsion to smoke it. Sometimes I plan my next experience with it weeks in advance. I'll admit I'm addicted to cigarettes, but not pot. The same is true of all my friends who use it."
Though it appears that the marijuana "party" has not yet hit KU with any hard-felt impact, it may be arriving soon. At a recent gathering, the question of pot was raised and discussed freely. Several admitted using it, alone and in small groups, and it was suggested that it might be possible to introduce it at the next party.
THOUGH NO ONE disdented, several said such a move would be risky. One, a former student at the University of Minnesota on leave from a tour of duty with the Army, said such parties were common at his school. The soldier said he used marijuana himself.
It is apparent from the widespread use of marijuanacross the country that it has many "purposes." Unfortunately it is used more than it is discussed. It is confiscated by police, but with a few notable exceptions, marijuanat itself has not stood trial.
The most comprehensive study of the use of marijuana was made 21 years ago—in 1944—at the request of Fiorello La Guardia, the dynamic mayor of New York City, Issued by the New York Academy of Medicine, the "La Guardia Report" investigated the usage of the drug in New York City. Its conclusions were:
- Smoking marijuana does not lead to mental or physical deterioration.
No deaths have ever been caused by marijuana.
The habitual smoker knows when to stop, since an excessive amount produces nausea.
Marijuana does not lead to addiction although it can be psychologically habit forming.
Marijuana produces no withdrawal symptoms comparable to those of opiate drugs.
- Marijuana is not a causal factor in criminal or sexual misconduct.
$ \textcircled{1} $ "The publicity concerning the catastrophic effects of marijuana smoking in New York is unfounded. It is more a nuisance than a menace."
What, then, are the dangers of pot? Why is it a federal offense to possess it?
Dr. Katherine Hess, narcotics co-ordinator for the New York Board of Health said in Moderator Magazine "The student who uses marijuana loses all judgment in time or space. If he is driving a car, what looks blocks away may be feet away. If she is a mother who thinks she has fed her infant one hour ago, it may have been six hours.
"It's a dangerous situation on campus." Dr. Hess says. "Students still drive cars on campus, and they have to deal in criminal circles to get their marijuana. The drug creates a sensation of ultimate power, and that can be dangerous, though not to the normal personality. It produces a psychic, mental dependence, and any person who depends on marijuana needs psychological help."
THEER IS substantial evidence to support Dr. Hess' claims.
At Columbia University a freshman committed suicide while he was in possession of marijuana, Columbia's Dean, David Truman, said "I doubt if there is a college anywhere in this country where narcotics is not a serious problem, and Columbia is no exception."
At KU, it is known that several of the users of pot are suffering psychological difficulties. One student recently spent a year in a mental institution, while two former students are now in mental hospitals. All three used marijuana. It is not contended that marijuana led to their problems, but rather that marijuana hampers such individuals from reaining mental well-being.
College administrations have sometimes bungled in controlling pot on the campus. Quite often its presence has been overlooked in an attempt to keep the image of the university clean and sparkling.
THE PUBLIC relations director at a New York school recently told a national magazine that marijuana "Exists everywhere, but the extent is very, very low here compared with other schools." But a number of students told the same publication that its use was so extensive that "You're likely to smell the stuff as you walk by (part of the campus)."
CAREFUL STORAGE — Concerned marijuana users are careful not to leave traces of the plant in their quarters. "Threshing of the crop" is usually done on an open sheet of paper. The remains are wadded up in the paper and disposed. Marijuana kept for smoking is stored in air tight containers, such as a tobacco tin or the metal cans used for 35 mm film.
FALL HARVEST—At this time of year, processing of the marijuana weed is simple. The brown leaves, already dry, are stripped from their twigs and crumpled to a cigarette tobacco-like consistency. It is then ready to be rolled into "joints," or "reefers," a task easily performed with the use of a cigarette rolling machine, available at tobacco stores for less than a dollar.
Sometimes, however, administrators are hesitant to act because they fear their students would be subjected to civil authorities, where they find punitive measures too severe.
When an administrator of a small Eastern college complained that one of his students had become ill on marijuana which had been obtained through Cornell University, President James Perkins of Cornell reported the matter to the local district attorney's office, and announced that Cornell would co-operate with the police investigation. In the past two years, 13 students have been arrested there. Cornell's student newspaper, The Daily Sun, editorialized "We can only hope that calm heads prevail."
Despite such results, universities have, and can, deal with the problem unilaterally, or through an agreement with public officials to let the university handle the problems of its own students.
At Hunter College in New York, the campus newspaper, The Meridian, discovered that 300 to 400 students were using marijuana, principally in fraternities $ ^{10}$
DEAN GLEN NYGREEN of the college called together a group of campus leaders, including fraternity presidents, and made clear that marijuana usage had to stop. He also sponsored a week-long seminar for open discussion of the issue. A fraternity president commented, "The object was not to get rid of the people involved, but to get rid of the problem. There was no witch hunt."
Compare such results with a comparable situation at Temple University in Philadelphia. The Temple News attempted to publish a story about drug usage on campus, but was censored by the administration. The story was not "in the best interests of the University . . ." the News was told. Consequently the Philadelphia papers billed the incident as a "scandal."
What about KU's administrators? Laurence C. Woodruff, dean of students, and Donald K. Anderson, dean of men, stated KU's view:
"I welcome the publication of a story concerning this problem," Woodruff said. "This is not the kind of news we like to hear, but it is a matter that should be made known to the students and the rest of the University family.
There are a number of ways the problem can be handled on the individual level, Dean Alderson said. "If we find that the student has a serious health problem, we would probably ask the student to go elsewhere for treatment," he said.
"On the other hand, we will take every opportunity to work with the marijuana user on campus. This might mean that we would ask him to use the University health service at Watkins hospital, or, perhaps, work through the guidance bureau."
Dean Alderson said, "I think it is safe to assume that in a student body of 13,500 you will find some usage of marijuana. But we don't have any real evidence of it."
"I HAVE KNOWN of only one case of a student using marijuana in the past two years." Woodruff said. "But I have heard rumors that it exists in some degree at the present. I know it available. A few years ago I discovered it growing in my back yard."
WOODRUFF SAID the University "tries to use the methods of therapy as best we can." He compared the problem of marijuana with alcohol. "We know our students drink," Woodruff said, "and there is a University regulation against them having alcoholic beverages in their living quarters. "But this administration knows that a mature person shouldn't be looked upon as a 17-year-old freshman. While we still haven't changed the regulation — and we're working on it—we just don't enforce it very rigidly. We know that there are a lot of things people may indulge in—experimentally—and might discard later and still become pretty good citizens," Woodruff said.
Daily Kansan Thursday, November 18, 1965
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