Written by Kelly Baker
Considering the nightlife at McGill, it is definitely no surprise that McGill is a bit of a party school. Most people drink, and most people get drunk at least once a week, with a good portion getting drunk multiple times a week. That said, McGill is also a demanding school, so as much as there is partying, there is also studying. The most popular drug of choice, in a city where 18 is the legal age to be served, is of course alcohol. Above all, students at McGill love their liquor. A night out usually starts with pregaming until everyone is sufficiently tipsy, then ordering some more drinks at whatever venue they are going to. The streets of Montréal at 3 a.m. are littered with drunken students hollering, swaying, and generally disturbing the peace.
As far as illegal substances are concerned, marijuana is the most prevalent. Pot was, for a time, decriminalized in Ontario, but that has since been repealed, so it is now officially illegal across Canada. However, possession penalties are much looser than in the U.S. In Montréal, specifically, there seems to be an unwritten code of ignorance amongst law enforcement. As long as you are smoking in your own house or on your stoop, the police pretty much leave you alone. Every Sunday during good weather at Mont-Royal is an event called Tamtams, where hippies gather to sell their crafts, dance, drum, and smoke grass in the grass. Police do patrol this, but they never arrest anyone. With this kind of attitude, it makes sense that pot is also pretty common on McGill’s campuses.