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June 4, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels May 21, 2004 Not just a hit � It's a way of life By Andrew Scot Bolsinger, Amanda Bolsinger and Myles Murphy Ashland Daily Tidings Strobes spew forth a colorful blitz of light across hundreds of Ashland High Students clad in '60s, '70s and '80s garb, dancing to the funky beat. Each flash of light reveals that which the olfactory senses already have perceived: a thick, pungent haze wafting over the crowd. Denise Baratta | Ashland Daily Tidings An Ashland teen holds a water bong she uses to smoke marijuana with friends. Suddenly, the music stops and an announcement is made that draws hoots, laughs and some applause from the crowd. "Hey, let me remind you that this is a non-smoking event," the DJ cautions before returning to the music. The applause comes from a dense crowd of teens, surrounding one of their peers, who is getting high. Often in Ashland, there is no such thing as a non-smoking event, particularly when it comes to marijuana. "Marijuana smoking is a social thing in our community," said an Ashland High senior who is also a member of the school's honor roll. "It's honestly a recreational activity when kids get together. It's something they do as part of the social code of conduct." This student, who we will call Bill for this story, uses pot about three times a week. But it's not just the students who see the abundance of marijuana in Ashland. Official statistics compiled through surveys by the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that regular marijuana use by Ashland High School seniors is 39.8 percent, almost two times the national average of 21.5 percent. Observations and anecdotal evidence, gathered by community volunteers and school officials, verify that usually about 30 to 40 percent of students say they smoke pot. Many teens who use regularly take comfort in a belief that most others share their habits. "I know people who don't smoke. They are a minority," says a high school senior. Rick Cornelius, a coach and teacher at Ashland High, says the problem extends far beyond the high school walls. It is "prolific and widespread in the community," he says. None of which is especially surprising for many in Ashland, where the leafy, often home-grown drug is as interwoven into the culture as Shakespeare plays and Plaza protests. What's the problem? To combat misinformation about the effects of marijuana use, Ashland Public Schools hosted a meeting on Dec. 15. At the meeting, held in the Mountain Avenue Theatre, presenter Eric Martin of Safe and Drug-Free Schools was asked by a community member, "Why are we sitting here talking about pot when people are doing worse drugs, like meth and coke?" "Because Ashland High School students smoke marijuana at levels that is two times the national average," Martin said. Still, what's the problem, say some parents? Brad Carrier, a Unitarian minister and parent of three sons, two of whom have graduated from Ashland High, was at the meeting. Carrier is convinced that the problem does not lie with marijuana use. "The assumption is that if people are using they are bad," Carrier said. "But not all drugs are bad. Marijuana has been used in some cultures for 5,000 years. Only recently has there been a puritanical prohibition." Carrier allowed his sons to experiment with marijuana. "I demanded that my sons not smoke cigarettes because there are definite health risks, but other than that, I allowed them to do what they want," he said. "Two of my kids don't care for pot so they don't use it. One does, so he does." Carrier believes that smoking marijuana provides certain buffers from other drugs. "I'm glad that Ashland kids are using pot instead of something like meth," he said. "We don't throw people in jail for drinking alcohol, but it's more dangerous then marijuana." Carrier's views resonate with many high school students who are convinced that marijuana is safer then cigarettes and alcohol. To many students who use marijuana, the only problem is that it's illegal. "I have been really drunk," says Jack (not his real name), an Ashland High senior who is headed to a state university in the fall, "and really stoned and I was much more in control when I was stoned. They are both altering in different ways but alcohol is more intoxicating. I don't understand the double standard that the government puts on marijuana." The problem Countering these beliefs is a big part of Martin's mission. A growing amount of evidence, according to Martin, undermines permissive attitudes. The effect of marijuana on users depends on the strength and potency of the D-9-THC, the main active chemical in marijuana. THC potency of marijuana has increased since the 1970s and continues to rise, according to Martin. Most marijuana also contains more than 400 other chemicals, according to NIDA literature. "Marijuana is no longer the same natural drug that it was 30 years ago," Martin said. Where historically, marijuana had THC levels of 6 to 9 percent, the highest level on record was confiscated by police in Oregon at 33.6 percent, Martin says. Simply put, marijuana is being developed unnaturally to be stronger and more hallucinogenic than ever before. The NIDA asserts that many outside factors have produced chemically enhanced marijuana. Most plants are now grown with the aid of artificial breeding, chemical fertilizers, selective pollination, and controlled atmospheres to increase potency, as well as size of the plants. Martin says that marijuana and tobacco share 14 cancer-causing chemicals, including Benzopyrne, the number-one cancer causing chemical. The NIDA also claims that early long-term studies of marijuana are developing links to cancer. "Studies show that someone who smokes five joints per day," according to NIDA literature, "may be taking in as many cancer-causing chemicals as someone who smokes a full pack of cigarettes every day." In short, marijuana is not the "natural, organic, healthy alternative" that many are led to believe. In his work with teens, Cornelius sees a more immediate negative effect. In his experience, kids become more "jaded, cynical and apathetic to daily life." Other teachers share his concern. AHS teacher Matt McKinnon, who also works as the school's peer jury advisor, says kids who are using pot in school are often hard to single out, but "I see more students as more lethargic. It's just a general impression I have." McKinnon says there is no way to really know the extent of marijuana use, but he suspects it's rising. "My perception is that marijuana is being smoked at increasing levels in this high school. There is a lot of marijuana being smoked." But another teacher, who asked not to be named, said the problem of marijuana is relatively constant. "It's no more of a problem than it was 20 years ago," he says. Yet even he admits that the problem of marijuana use is evident at times. "For some," the teacher says, "it's a major problem and becomes a focus in life." A split in society Therein lies the rub, but certainly not just on the Ashland High School campus. It's the rub throughout the entire community. For some, marijuana use is a destructive force in their lives. "We are right in the middle of Pot Central, USA," says Jack, who says that both he and his parents use the drug regularly. "It is a drug and it messes you up. You have to be responsible." For others, it's as normal a part of life as opening a bottle of wine with dinner. "Nobody ever dies from it," says one Ashland High teacher. "You can't die from weed," says an Ashland senior. "No one has ever died from weed," says an Ashland High sophomore, "but they have died from cigarettes and drinking." The issue is ongoing in the city and in schools. In 2003, community input helped reverse a "zero tolerance" policy which had been in place since 1997. Before 1997, there had been no consistent districtwide policy. The policy called for the expulsion students found in violation. Even that toothsome rule proved difficult to enforce. In 2001, the school board overturned the expulsion of two students for pot, ignoring the protestations of school administrators. In 2003, following a long and often contentious series of meetings between community members and school officials, the policy was abandoned in favor of a one geared toward helping students address their substance abuse problems through a series of graduated steps designed to keep students drug-free. "If a teacher suspects, or if a kid is acting different than they do on any other day," says Ashland High School Principal Jeff Schlect, "they call us we make a determination. We pull them in, then work with the parents." So how bad is it? As elusive as a puff of inhaled smoke, assessing the real level of marijuana use is a quixotic quest. Stories of marijuana use rise and fall every day with a casual ease. Surely some are little more than urban myth. Just as assuredly, however, some are real. One student who doesn't use says her car with tinted windows became a frequent "hot box," because she didn't lock her doors. On more than one occasion, she left school, opened her car door and was greeted by the pungent smell of marijuana. She suspected that students who don't drive off campus found the car an easy place to get high at lunch. The same student said she was recently approached in the high school halls by a peer she did not know. "Do you smoke?" the peer asked. "No." "Can I buy your pee?" she asked, holding out a Starbucks cup. But community leaders believe that much of the discussion is the stuff of legends, blown far out of proportion. "It's really hard for me to accept student surveys," says Schlect. "Kids tend to exaggerate on surveys. I honestly think kids are making those choices after school." The number of arrests at Ashland High School support Schlect's impression. According to figures released by the Ashland Police Department, police have been called on campus for drugs - almost exclusively marijuana - only nine times since 2001. Police Chief Michael Bianca, himself a father of two kids at Ashland High, says stories about drug use tend to grow. "I hear from many kids at the high school that drug use is low or nonexistent," Bianca says. "There's a lot more talk and hype that doesn't match reality. Some kids never use, some try it and stop. Some use it a lot and it's part of their lives. For a few individuals it will lead to dangerous and destructive behavior." Pressed, Bianca is willing to concede that marijuana presents more of a problem than other drugs. "Alcohol use is high, marijuana use is high. Meth use is low, heroin use is low," he says of the both the high school and the city in general. For further evidence, Schlect points to the scholarly excellence of student performance at Ashland High, generally regarded as one of the finest academic schools in the country. "When I think of our kids, they have a broader perspective," he says. "Our kids are well-traveled and well-educated - they're known for this. I don't see us as pot central. People ask me all the time, for such a small school, how is our student performance so strong?" But, over the course of several interviews, with several kids, it is safe to say they disagree. "Most people at school smoke," says an 18-year-old Ashland High senior - we'll call her Monica - who says she used infrequently during her sophomore and junior years. "It's not a big deal because it's so prevalent. Kids are mostly numb to the fact that it's illegal or that it's bad for them." One teacher interviewed for this story says his afternoon class is a challenge every day. Following a 50-minute, open-campus lunch period, the change in his students is noticeable. "I feel relatively certain," he says, "that in one of the classes I teach after lunch a good number of students come back being high on marijuana. I base that on behaviors, on a number of factors that I can't pinpoint and can't attribute to anyone in particular. Lunch gives a lot of students the opportunity to go out somewhere else and smoke a joint and take a hit on a pipe or whatever it might be, and I really believe I can see the impact in one of my classes." Are kids using at lunch on a daily basis? "No, that's not true," Schlect says. "Kids aren't getting stoned every day, and I'm convinced it would be impossible for a kid to be stoned every day and we wouldn't notice." Still he says parents are often concerned. "Parents come to me all the time and that's their question: 'Is a lot of alcohol and marijuana use on campus?' We understand kids are using on school grounds and some kids come back after lunch and they use." Vice principal Don Valentini thinks school policy is working, and that the problem, to the extent that it is a problem, is under control. "I'm on this campus every day of the week," Valentini says. Simply too easy The ease with which students can obtain marijuana plays a role, both in access, and in the subtle message of permissiveness. Routinely, Ashland students - even those that don't use - say the drug is readily available. An 18-year-old high school dropout who doesn't yet have a job says he uses five times a week and hasn't paid it for any of it in over a year. "I rely on the generosity of others," he says. Even without paying, it's easy to get. "I can call someone and have it within five minutes." Which does not differ greatly from the experience of Ashland middle schooler Chance Conner, who attended the December school meeting with his father, Rich, to listen to Martin's lecture. Even at middle school, Chance says, marijuana is easy to get. Which is exactly why Rich Conner wanted he and his son to attend the meeting together. "We want to be open and honest as possible and just keep talking without using scare tactics," Rich said. Monica says the opportunity to experiment is always available, even with students like her who no longer use the drug. "I know five people that deal," she says. "It's easier to get then booze. You ask anyone and they either have it or they know where to get it. It's quick, easy and accepted." What to do Ashland school officials say they approach the issue in accordance with the values of the community. Clear guidelines exist for dealing with students who are knowingly intoxicated. The tricky part is knowing, according to Valentini. "If we can't prove it without a shadow of a doubt," he says, "we pretty much have to get an admission." Still, as the relatively small number of arrests indicate, "it's working, I think," Valentini says. Schlect agrees. He believes the school's mandate from the community is to step in, "if we see kids' academic success falling off," and work with the student to provide assistance, not punishment, unless necessary. Parents agree that the schools can only do so much. It's up to each family to raise their children, says one parent, who says his own experimentation with drugs firmed up his resolve to keep his own children clean. Parents who do not monitor their children are failing them, he says. Acceptance is simply "bad parenting. It's like handing your children a loaded gun." Cornelius agrees, saying that adults who use, or make excuses for kids who use, are "trivializing it." The backdrop of disparity among adults on marijuana colors any discussion. Bianca says the disparity of views, and the tolerance of the drug extends beyond Ashland. Bianca pointed out that pot is less of a crime in the entire state than in most of the rest of the country. Possession of less than two ounce of pot brings offenders merely a citation. "The state has decided it's not as big a deal as other things," Bianca said. And finally, there are the students themselves. Some, like Monica, say her friends that use are headed down a dead-end street. Others simply accept it as a part of their lives. Some are openly consumed by it. Most agree, even those who use the drug say the billow of smoke in the community is a problem that extends far beyond the halls of the high school. "The community is f---ed up when it comes to pot," says Bill, the honor roll student who continues to use pot. "[Pot is] not a good thing." "Maybe some of it has to do with the community," Valentini says simply. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams