<p>I was at BDD 4/20-21, and I was surprised to see the number of prospective students discussing smoking pot in high school and their plans to continue at duke.. is this normal? I'm really looking to avoid smoking/drinking/any drug use in college (if possible), but I often succumb to peer pressure. Would requesting a "wellness/substance-free" dorm help at all?</p>
<p>I don’t think drug use is a problem, but drinking might be a problem. Probably 1/3 of the campus drinks weekly (religiously), 4/5 drinks. You don’t have to drink, but drinking is everywhere.</p>
<p>If you want to stay away completely, you can opt to live in the substance free dorm Brown.</p>
<p>Drugs are definitely not big here. Alcohol is more prevelant, but if you read other threads you’ll see that there isn’t pressure to drink and a lot of kids don’t :)</p>
<p>Duke does not have a prevalent drug culture says my 09 grad…less than in my era at college. Drinking is part of the party culture and a significant portion of the students aren’t even into that scene although the Greek scene looms bigger than its actual participants if you stay on campus a lot. There have been incidences where students were punished at Duke for having illegal drugs on campus and students all know pockets of kids who use pot.</p>
<p>Most of my son’s friends were pretty big health nuts and a lot of Duke kids stay in shape and work out. My son did not request the wellness dorm and found that people who just stand up for themselves are respected. Lots of strong personalities at Duke…I would not judge Duke based on the talk of prospectives. Dukies tend to have goals and to know how to go after things and not many would sacrifice their dreams for a write up on drugs.</p>
<p>For pot, it’s just the availability heuristic (you overestimate it because those few 4/20-triggered anecdotes stand out in your mind). Pot isn’t that common at all here. Compared to my high school, you rarely see/smell it. Drinking is really common though.</p>
<p>You will definitely need to come to terms with your own relationship with alcohol - whether you decide to drink or not to drink, that decision will be pretty much forced upon you by the Duke social scene. Drugs are kind of a different story, if you don’t seek them out, odds are they aren’t going to find you. Weed isn’t huge on campus but it’s definitely around for those interested, but you definitely won’t miss out on much by not partaking.</p>
<p>What about for the kind of person who very rarely would smoke a joint or eat a space brownie? Would there be other people like that? My high school is full of pot heads, but I’m talking about the casual every now and again weekend smokers.</p>
<p>If you really want to smoke or eat some brownies, there probably won’t be much of a problem going to look for someone who has some or could point you in the right direction. Duke doesn’t have a very prevalent drug scene.</p>
<p>There is an article on the front page of chronicles today; </p>
<p>[Duke?s</a> dynamic drug scene largely muted | The Chronicle](<a href=“http://dukechronicle.com/article/duke-s-dynamic-drug-scene-largely-muted]Duke?s”>http://dukechronicle.com/article/duke-s-dynamic-drug-scene-largely-muted)</p>
<p>It won’t find you; you’ll have to find it (if you want)</p>
<p>I was at BDD on 4/20-21 too, and I didn’t hear any kids talking about pot (except for the kid who asked about 4/20 during the student panel). Maybe you just happened to talk with all the pot smokers…</p>
<p>Anyways, if you’re fine with being around people who drink, then there’s no need to request the wellness dorm (Brown, I think), but if you’re really that susceptible to peer pressure, then requesting the wellness dorm is certainly an option.</p>