By CASEY VAUGHN, Special to Bootleg Essential Culture
Whether people get high for the thrill of doing something illegal or they just enjoy being stoned, no one wants to get busted.
Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, especially among college students and young adults.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse and the University of Michigan’s survey from 2005 found that approximately 49 percent of college students and 57 percent of young adults ages 19 to 28 reported lifetime use of marijuana. That’s a lot of people takin’ hits.
Some sort of drug use is a common part of the twenty-something social scene. If 50 percent of people in their twenties are using, then chances are either you or someone you know likes to get loaded.
Whether people get high for the thrill of doing something illegal or they just enjoy being stoned, no one wants to get busted. Unfortunately, Clemson city police have the means to do just that.
Two years ago, the Clemson police department established a full time narcotics position, which works to “aggressively enforce drug sales and use,” said Chief of Police Jimmy Dixon. Though it is an effective addition to local law enforcement, not everyone who enjoys a blunt from time to time is necessarily going to jail.
It is extremely rare to get sent to prison just for possessing a small amount of marijuana, especially first time offenders, according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy. In most states, possession of an ounce or less of pot is a misdemeanor offense.
In South Carolina, the maximum penalty for a first-offense conviction of possession of one ounce or less of marijuana — or 10 grams or less of hash — is 30 days in jail or a $200 fine.
Captain Eric Hendricks of the Clemson University Police Department said there has been a decrease in exposure of marijuana usage on campus. That means students are not as obvious about their indiscretions by smoking up the dorm hallways.
Maybe there is a decrease in use on campus or students’ have found alternative and less obvious ways to get high. Prescription drug abuse is growing in popularity as an alternative means to get high. Maybe it’s the need to stay awake all night and Adderall is the drug of choice. Whatever the reason, prescription drugs are becoming increasingly common and excepted by young adults.
According to a 2004 Monitoring the Future survey of college students and adults, 7.4 percent of college students used the painkiller Vicadin without a prescription that year, up from 6.9 percent in 2002, with similar increases for other similar prescription medications.
