I am going to be a student next year at George Washington University (YAY!), and I was hoping a current student could tell me about what the actual drug and drinking culture is like at GW. I feel like I’ll hear the generic answer that “all that stuff is on every college campus”, but I’d love to hear from an actual student, I mean marijuana is legal in DC, in my mind I’d expect it to be all over
I obviously have always made sure that my studies ALWAYS come first (the reason why I was accepted), but if I’m being completely honest, I really really enjoy marijuana in my spare time, and would love to know that there are other people at GW who feel the same way. I know that marijuana is legal for recreational use in DC, but has a lot of limitations on buying and selling (you must “donate”), and I guess I was wondering that type of presence marijuana and other drugs (shrooms,etc.) has and how easy they are to get.
“I mean marijuana is legal in DC, in my mind I’d expect it to be all over”
It’s legal for 21+. On most college campuses, it is not legal. There is very little difficulty in getting marijuana even in places where it isn’t legal.
Drinking culture: there’s plenty of it to be found. It’s not hard to find a party Thursday-Saturday nights, and when you start getting a little older, there are plenty of students that leave campus to go to a wide variety of bars and clubs in D.C. With that said, I definitely wouldn’t call GW a “party school.” While it’s easy to find parties, there are plenty of people that stay in doing other things (participate in student orgs, sports, work, study, etc).
Marijuana culture: it’s there, but it’s pretty well hidden. Yes, it’s “legal” in D.C. (though federal cops WILL bust you if they see if), but the campus is a zero tolerance area. If you room next to someone (or the same hall) that has a problem with weed (many hate the smell) you can expect to be turned-in to GW Police. I’m not sure how often it happens on first offenses, but students DO get kicked-off campus for drug offenses. With that said, I won’t tell you to “stay away” from it, but it’s not a very open culture and you’ll have plenty of obstacles if you want to enjoy it on any sort of regular basis.
Even though the recreational use of marijuana is “legal” in D.C., you should be aware of two things;
It is illegal under federal law (for good reason may I add), and federal cops will bust you for it.
It is a banned substance by GW and isn’t allowed on campus. If you’re busted with it by university police – even if you’re 21 years old and its “legal” – you’ll be in big trouble. I’m unaware of specific punishments, but I’d image it would be similar if a freshman was caught with beer in his/her fridge.
Additionally, you should be aware that you need to grow up if you’re making your college choice with regards to the drug culture on campus. Seriously bud, it’s illegal and discouraged for a reason.
@gdubya firstly “bud”… you know nothing about me and how much work and studying I had to do in order to be able to apply and be accepted to GW and other similar schools, and secondly marijuana has a plethora of benefits. If you think that drinking alcohol is better for your body, you’re sadly mistaken.
@anondc Okay so I can take this question because “SWIM” has a medical card and has smoked a lot of marijuana. And when I say a lot I seriously mean a lot…I’ve been there. I’m a vegan, democrat and am currently a senior at GWSB. First of all I want to say that you need to lay off @Nhuffer- he specifically said that he’s not trying to tell you no. What Nhuffer is trying to say is that as a freshman it may be hard to find an environment that you can fully enjoy getting high in since campus authorities punish marijuana related offenses more heavily than alcohol and that perhaps because of that you can jeopardize your right to attend G.W or really just make yourself unecessarily paranoid. And that’s good advice because I’m sure you don’t want to smoke in an environment where you’re anxious every 5 minutes about someone coming by? I can tell you from years of experience that being in a comfortable setting makes a huge difference. Also, you cannot smoke on federal property. That being said, there are quite a few residential apartments that are very very close to campus and permit tenants to smoke such as the Statesman. If you get a med card here, for example, and want to find a 4/20 friendly apartment to move into your upperclassmen years then there are definitely places. Also, there are Instagram apps where you can order marijuana legally as a “gift” but I would be very careful about that your freshman year. In general, whenever you go to a new place it’s important to talk to locals and other students in order to get a safe understanding of the area and local rules and regulations.
In my opinion its already 2018, and i think cannabis should be legalized in most of the country right now. Not only for giving them what they want but the cannabis help us in our daily routine. No wonder why many people allow marijuana to be legalized. And as i read here https://www.worldwide-marijuana-seeds.com/blogs/marijuana-news/what-is-the-biggest-threat-to-the-marijuana-industry that most of the country used marijuana in medical purpose, they also used CBD oil and they used it as an ingredients to the food. So why marijuana cant be legalized?
@Theeane it is legal in many states medicinally and recreationally. See this chart to learn where its legal.
Bright green means fully legal, darker green, mostly OK to smoke although not technically recreational yet.
Be patient it will be most of the USA in ten years
But its NOT legal in Colorado, Washington DC for anyone under age 21. That probably includes the OP and most freshman college students and most sophomores across the USA. There are reasons, a few individuals who have manic depression will get psychotic on weed. It will be researched further but universities do not want to risk it. I commend GW for being strict, good for them. Its the law, anyway and as they point out, Federal cops are crawling all over DC. I worked for the USPTO in Denver, and the federal cops said, one sniff of it and they would fire us no questions asked, and we are all over age 21, legal residents of Colorado and it IS legal in Colorado. Federal cops are not fond of marijuana. Its just how they are trained.
If you’re trying to do public sector after college–which is a strong portion of GWU-- I would strongly caution against its usage. The federal government does not look kindly upon someone using it continually recreationally, but if your heart is set on the private sector with no security clearance, then smoke away from campus to your hearts content. I have nothing against marijuana, but the federal government is another matter entirely.
This is simply a new topic that I haven’t been exposed to before, but out of my own personal curiosity why is it legal in DC but you can be arrested by federal officers? Same thing with the campus? The country as a whole seems to be moving in the opposite direction, so I’m curious about this.
@shawnspencer DC, which is a district (a psuedo state), can enact it’s own laws. It voted to legalize marijuana while still illegal federally. This means that if you are on federal property (where federal law takes over) or are near a federal law enforcement officer, you can and will be arrested. As far as campus, a university can treat the school much like its own state and have stricter laws than the area surrounding it. In this case, GWU has made itself a no-drug area, even though it’s “legal” in DC. Hope this helps…
Hey guys!
Just wanted to update everyone as of 4/20/2019:
I’m in my second semester of Freshman year, and the party culture (both drinking and smoking) is very healthy here at GW (if you make it so). It isn’t hard to participate in moderation here as the student body here is smart! People work hard and play hard after.
This being said the presence of marijuana in DC is very prominent while finding marijuana on the GW campus, isn’t as prominent, but still not hard to find (or smell lol).
To any prospective Freshman at GW =
ONLY room in Thurston if you’re OK with drinking and smoking around you, possibly in your room, often. Quite a few people here (Thurston freshmen) enjoy partying from Wednesday-Saturday nights, and at times it can be overwhelming, but you soon realize that everything that you do should never push your personal limits. Thurston is gross, smelly, home to stuff nobody even wants to know about; nevertheless, it’s the quintessential freshman experience!!
P.S. I have had friends (in dorms other than Thurston) the police hardly go into Thurston probably out of fear of what they’ll see, and when they have been caught by GWPD with alcohol and marijuana in their rooms, the school makes you take an online course, go through an education interview to learn how to not make the mistake again, and then it is wiped from your record, unless you get more than 3 offenses in one single semester.
Come to GW and Raise High!!
P.S. 2.0 = Apparently they’re knocking down/renovating Thurston next year so I don’t know how things will change as people are saying all the Freshman will live on the Vern campus (which doesn’t make sense as an entire grade can’t fit there) but look out for more news about this!
If you want to work for the Feds in any position that would require a security clearances do not partake in drugs. Top Secret and up you are polygraphed and they will find out. If you have done it in the past you aren’t doomed as long as you are honest with them.
I actively avoided parties, clubs, and drinking out of paranoia about my career and it was not difficult. Greek life is only 30% of GWU’s campus. People party and drink but if you say you won’t no one is going to push you. I have gone to parties with student organizations where I told people I didn’t drink, and that was that.
Source; I am a current GWU Honors sophomore and a federal intern.