Bates College - Drug Scene

Quick Stats

College Prowler Take

Aside from alcohol, marijuana is the drug of choice at Bates, and it’s definitely a presence on campus. Students don’t make much of an effort to keep their smoking under wraps. If someone bothers to light some incense to hide the scent of his or her pot, they’re being discreet. It’s fairly easy for students to acquire marijuana if they want to, usually through friends or friends-of-friends. Other drugs are also present but less obviously so. Bates students probably use or have tried pretty much every available drug, but everything harder than alcohol and marijuana is kept secret. It’s more difficult for people to get a hold of these harder drugs, but if students are persistent enough, they can probably find the coke that got Boston George arrested.

Bates is like most other colleges as far as drugs go—a majority of the campus drinks, a significant number of the students have at least tried marijuana, and more than a few are regular smokers and are not inclined to be secretive about doing so. Marijuana is definitely present, and you’d be hard-pressed to walk through the dorms without smelling pot. For students who don’t want to get involved in the drug scene, there are a variety of chem-free housing options that really are chem-free—smoking and drinking are prohibited within 20 feet of these buildings. There’s no social stigma attached to people who smoke marijuana, probably because so many people do smoke. Another reason for this is because the students who choose to smoke pot have to keep up with Bates’s challenging curriculum, so few people really abuse the drug.

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Students Speak Out

BatNM says: Bates College 2014 Area, Ethnic, Cultural, and Gender Studies

Drinking and smoking are widely... Drinking and smoking are widely talked about on Bates' campus. Harder drugs exist, but they are by no means in your face. 12345 Drug Scene: March 19, 2009 Report

katiswb says:

It is a somewhat noticeable part... It is a somewhat noticeable part of college. Weed smoking is, at least. I don't really hear that much about people doing harder drugs very often. 12345 Drug Scene: February 28, 2009 Report

BatCB says: Bates College 2013 Other

From what I've heard, there is a... From what I've heard, there is a drug scene at Bates, but it is very rarely heard about or seen. Drinking, however, is very popular and often seen. 12345 Drug Scene: February 15, 2009 Report

jsawyer says: Bates College 2013 English Language and Literature

If you aren't involved in drugs,... If you aren't involved in drugs, it isn't difficult to avoid the drug scene. The most common drug is pot, and you have to be careful because you can get a strike against you if you're caught in the same room as people smoking, regardless of whether or not you are. There are a good deal of smokers on campus, though they only smoke outside. There have been students caught with harder drugs on campus, but it is very rare. Honestly, hard alcohol is bigger than any drug problem on campus. 12345 Drug Scene: February 15, 2009 Report

Anonymous says:

There is a lake filled with... There is a lake filled with alcohol and a river of pot that flows through this campus. There are also harder and stronger drugs like ecstasy and coke, but that is very hush-hush. 12345 Drug Scene Report

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