Pubdate: Thu, 28 Feb 2008 Source: Athens News, The (OH) Copyright: 2008, Athens News Contact: http://www.athensnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1603 Author: Mike Ludwig, Campus Reporter OU STUDENTS - STRONG MARIJUANA EASIER TO GET THAN BEER (Pseudonyms were used for every source in this piece, since they're talking about and engaging in illegal activities.) Ohio University students say that potent marijuana is easy to find in Athens, but it's not always cheap. "It's just really easy to get good weed here," OU undergrad Chester Copperfield said while using marijuana with three friends during an interview on Tuesday. Copperfield and his friends estimated that 75 to 80 percent of OU students use marijuana at least occasionally. They claimed that it usually takes the average dorm-dweller about 20 minutes to find pot on OU's South Green, where "it's easier to get than beer." "All the people I know who buy a lot of weed know people around town," Copperfield said. "Tee" is the pseudonym used by an OU junior who lives near campus and admits that he sells marijuana to a clientele of college students. He boasted that his product would be considered top quality in other cities, but is the norm in Athens. "Around here, it's very average bud, but really, it's not," Tee said last week. "It's almost hard to get rid of." Tee described the marijuana he deals as seedless, potent and "fluffy." It also doesn't cause fatigue, which an often undesired effect of marijuana. The street name he uses for such marijuana is "nuggets." An ounce of nuggets can cost $300 to $400, and Tee normally pays $350. He sells 1/8 ounce portions for $50 each. Tee said he has sold both indoor- and outdoor-grown marijuana, and he suspects that most of it was grown in or around Athens and Meigs counties. Indoor-grown marijuana has a strong odor and can be very potent. Outdoor-grown marijuana is heartier, greener and often smells like hay. OU junior Kert Diggler is Tee's roommate and a fellow marijuana user. He said that quality weed is so easy to come by in Athens that it's hard to sell small amounts for recreational use. "The market is so flooded with people who smoke pot that it's so easy, it's hard, you know?" Diggler said. Diggler claimed that some well-known strains of marijuana, such as Strawberry Cough and Lemon G, have been available in Athens this winter. He believes that these designer strains were probably brought in from Meigs County, Cincinnati or Columbus. Both Tee and Diggler admitted that there are much cheaper alternatives to the kind of high-grade pot they sell and smoke. Commercial grade marijuana, commonly known to students as "mids" or "shwag," is not as potent, fresh or flavorful as the nuggets that Tee and Diggler are used to, but it's normally more than half the price. OU undergrad Bob A. has occasionally sold and smoked commercial-grade marijuana since he moved to Athens two years ago. He said that a 1/8 ounce bag of the stuff usually costs $20 or $25, but he has seen it go for as low as $15. Bulk buyers normally pay between $100 and $140 per ounce. Bob A. said that commercial-grade marijuana is often sold in "blunts" at parties where people are looking to score weed. Blunts are cigars shells filled with marijuana, and can go for $5 to $15. Using, possessing or selling marijuana is both against the law and the OU Student Code of Conduct. Depending on the amount possessed or sold and prior offenses, it can result in expulsion from the university and or jail time. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek