Graduate Student Extols the Virtues of Marijuana at “The Chronicle of Higher Education”

It is not often, at least not in this day and age, that a specific article stuns or causes me to raise an eyebrow of sheer surprise. But, that was certainly the case when I stumbled across a recent piece on jobs page at “The Chronicle of Higher Education.”

My surprise comes only because of where the article appears. And it has nothing to do with it being on a jobs page.

If I had been surfing the net and stumbled across such an article at some graduate student’s web site or a web page extolling the virtues of marijuana, my reaction would not have been the same.

But reading “FIRST PERSON, Pothead Ph.D.,” at The Chronicle of Higher Education” came as a shock. But then, maybe I am out of touch with the prevailing mind set that occurs across college campuses these days.

The graduate student protects his identity by writing under the pseudonym, Tom Quincey. We are not sure why the first name is Tom, the last Quincy, or which university the graduate student attends.

We are told the writer is a Ph.D candidate - I couldn’t help but surmise the author is male. Why, I don’t really know other than as an educator I could not see any female authoring such a piece.

Not a Cautionary Tale
Mr. Quincey writes well and appears to understand the inverted pyramid concept. He opens with:

“I never would have made it this far in graduate school without the aid of marijuana.”

If you were left with any doubt as to his views, they are gone by sentences two through four of paragraph two:

“I think my pot smoking has helped smooth out the roughness of a Ph.D. program. And frankly, I think the disturbing issue with a younger generation of graduate students is that they don’t toke up enough. Instead many indulge in things far worse, both for them physically and for the humanities.”

Quincey is not about promoting open drug use, just marijuana. He notes, “it ain’t alcohol, which is far worse for one’s body and mind.” And he is not a proponent of smoking pot every day.

Instead, he states:“If you use the substance judiciously, marijuana can remind you that “intellectual labor” is really a form of Play, and infinitely preferable to most of the jobs your peers are drudging through.”

In the middle of his piece he explains how marijuana helped him deliver a stellar paper to one of his professors, an essay that his professor told him was publishable.

Writer Notes His Own Level of Hypocrisy
Quincey also manages to touch on an inner voice, that one that we call conscience. But his inner voice tells him something a little bit different than what one might expect.

“Of course I’ve often felt troubled, politically, by my marijuana use: Here I am in the comfort of my apartment while unfortunate people are incarcerated for selling it to me. That’s a form of hypocrisy, and it’s led me to donate money to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (Norml).”

As another concern, Quincey notes the drug choices of some of his age peers from other courses of study.

“I fear that we’ll have finally, irrevocably, lost the culture wars when the humanists are doing the same drugs as the M.B.A. students.”

He concludes as well as he began, at least in conveying his ultimate thought:

“Maybe someday I’ll be able to write a column like this under my real name.”

The Chronicle of Higher Education
There is no comment form to leave a personal thought at the site but the site offers a forum page that has six pages of reaction to date. And for those who may want to converse with the writer, his name is highlighted and a link is available for a message to the careers site that will presumably be forwarded to the author.

One of the comments perhaps indicates the feeling of many readers.

“I admit, I was curious to see what the author could possibly have said that was so horrifying as to insult ‘hundreds - nay thousands’ of people. After reading the article, I’m failing to dredge up any outrage, and I have no idea why anyone would be personally insulted by the article.

Well, unless you do hard drugs or are a frequent binge drinker. Then I understand the article could really tick you off.”

In fact, it is not the content that causes the stir - it is where the piece appeared. “The Chronicle of Higher Education” is one of the most reputable education sites in America.

And it is now home to one of the better written articles on the delicate topic of recreational drug use.

I am certainly not offended. But I am definitely surprised.

And you?

Marijuana photo courtesy of Jaypeg21.