When I was in school in the early 2000s smoking was still happening at colleges all over the country. Sure, we’d heard it was really bad for you but where there was booze flowing, there was social (and chain) smoke blowing. But fast forward to 2015 and the bad word about cancer sticks is out. According to a recent study, pot is now beating cigarettes in popularity at universities everywhere. With tobacco’s health risks shoved in their faces the last decade, they’ve finally decided smoking just isn’t cool anymore.
Getting High at a High
Coeds are lighting up, just not in the same way they were last century. Based on the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research’s annual Monitoring the Future survey, in 1999, 19 percent of college kids claimed to be heavy smokers. The 2014 group was only five percent. That’s a serious dip. It’s worth noting, however, cigarette decline doesn’t necessarily always mean an overall tobacco/nicotine decline. E-cigarettes and hookah are still holding strong. But still, 2014 will forever be known as the year joints finally beat cigs. The cigs are real bitter about it, on top of just being bitter in general.
Monitoring the Future has been around since 1980 and since that time, marijuana has become less and less stigmatized as a bad-news-bears type of drug. The 2014 survey results reveal the highest ever percentage of daily/near daily weed enthusiasts. Six percent said they use pot every day or have enjoyed it at least 20 times in the past month. By the way, researchers say the college undergrad marijuana use is a natural chain reaction since high school senior marijuana use has gone up, too.
Are less strict marijuana laws to blame for the 35-year high of pot smoking on college campuses? Pretty much. Thanks to recent legislation in favor of weed in states like Colorado, Oregon and Washington, smoking (and eating) marijuana is considered way less risky than it used to be. According to the same survey, in 2006, 55 percent of young 20-somethings considered pot dangerous. In 2014, that percentage dropped to 35.
What About The Hard(er) Stuff?
The fascinating news, at least to a former college binge drinker like myself, is according to the 2014 survey, there are less students abusing alcohol. Say what?! Frat houses across America must be holding vigils. Only five percent of respondents admitted to binge drinking (15 or more beverages in one sitting—or beer pong tournament) once in the past two weeks. I guess this means less underage kids trying to get into bars. That’s a shame. The adrenaline rush of not knowing whether the expired ID of someone with a different hair color would work was a real thrill.
Alas, cocaine seems to be having a revival. The number of peeps claiming to dabble in the nose candy went from 2.7 percent in 2013 to 4.4 percent in 2014. The plight of the poor student is apparently no more.
Half of the group in question said they hadn’t used “illicit drugs” but who knows how many of those folks are lying. For all they know, this “research” they’re participating in is an undercover sting operation wanting to bust everyone doing mushrooms on campus this semester. What happens at Burning Man stays at Burning Man. Surveys be damned.
Class Starts at 4:20
With the exception of a slightly higher cocaine numbers, I think this is all for the better. Getting high isn’t really conducive to dangerous, more alcohol-oriented rites of passage like hazing (I vomit at the mere sight of Goldschlager), power hours and keg stands. Pot certainly isn’t totally harmless but let’s face it, no one is ending up at student health to get their stomach pumped from weed poisoning. And obviously, less second hand smoke is a win for everyone.
I guess the only question left is, how are all these potheads getting any homework done?
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