Students discuss drug usage
"Marijuana is just a harmless giggle. Acid helps you to learn about yourself." - Beatle John Lennon.
By GALEN BLAND
Kansan Staff Writer
It usually starts like all other simple mischief. There is not much difference between a youth smoking pot and a youth of the 50's drinking beer, some students said during recent discussions on drugs.
At first it is usually a deep, dark secret. The "head" hides from the public while he is stoned and is hesitant to talk about it with anyone who does not smoke.
"The first time I smoked grass," one student said, "I picked it myself. It was pretty exciting because very few people I knew had done it then. It didn't get us very stoned, though."
"We were very paranoid when we started smoking. We thought everyone was a narc (narcotics agent) and so we were quiet about what we did," one student said.
Some smoke only once but many continue their use of the weed. "The first time I smoked really good grass was great. There is such a difference between Kansas grass and really good grass. There is no comparison," said another student.
After the newness has worn off users have found their fears also have worn off. Then they become more open with their use of grass and discuss it with others in attempts to "turn them on."
"It was a real kick then. We were stoned and sitting around, laughing at the silly policemen who did not know and the prudish puritans who did not know and even laughing at each other," one user said.
"Sure, you try to turn people on," one student said, "if you can then it costs you less to smoke and besides, you want to share your experience with them."
For those who stick with it a new dimension, a new toy may be added to the game-acid.
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"I was very nervous before I dropped (LSD) for the first time. I just didn't know what it would be like. A lot of heads won't drop even though they will smoke grass or hash every night of the week. It's all the big scare rumors put out by the government that hold them back," a student said when asked about LSD.
"I've really learned a lot about myself through acid. I don't regret taking it although I don't think I'll do it anymore. I've found what I wanted to find so now it's over," another student said.
"The only way to describe it is WoW," a student said. "The first time I dropped was in Colorado and it was so beautiful that I couldn't say a word but wow."
So they climb higher and higher into the mountains of this never, never land. "Things can get rather distorted if you drop often and smoke more. I've gone days without being straight. It was a gas" one student said.
Several students' said people who criticized dope the most usually were those who knew the least about it. One said it was hilarious to talk with a person
about drugs who did not know he turned on.
In response to whether they have "bad trips" or not most said they had bad moments but they did not last long. "I once thought that all my friends were conspiring to mess me up. I didn't know what they were going to do but I was sure that they were going to get me," said one head.
Almost all heads shy away from heroin or any physically addicting drugs. Speed or methadrine is all right but "smack" is another thing.
"Sometimes I want to shoot smack, but I know I'd better not. Maybe I'll try it sometime. Who knows?" one user said.
Why do they keep getting stoned? Where Does it end? "It's fun. We get stoned and have fun. It's no big deal," one said.
"Sometimes I'd like to quit but I never do. It is hard to do when you can't convince yourself that there is anything wrong with it. Some people have told me that it makes you lose the desire to do anything or be anything, but I don't think that has happened to me," another said.
Pill scare might cause large birth increase
WASHINGTON (UPI) — A birth control crusader told Sen. Gaylord Nelson, D-Wis., Tuesday that his Senate hearings on birth control pills would result in at least 100,000 unwanted "Nelson babies" this year by making women afraid to use such pills.
Nelson responded by accusing the witness, Phyllis Piotrow, of "scaring the daylights out of people" with questionable statistics.
Mrs. Piotrow, former executive director of the Population Crisis Committee, said a Gallup Poll published in Newsweek magazine indicated that 1.7 million women were quitting birth control pills because of testimony before Nelson's subcommittee. A number of witnesses have testified that oral
Mrs. Piotrow, mother of two, insisted that "in nine months the number of babies being born will be higher."
contraceptives sometimes cause blood clotting and might lead to cancer.
"Whether you want to call these babies 'Nelson babies' or whatever . . . anything that contributes to babies being born that are unwanted and unloved is a tragedy," she said.
Can we talk?
Our representative will be on campus: Wednesday, March 18
Please contact the placement office for an appointment.
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