Columbia 5 drug bust

In yesterday's titillating scandalous news from Alma Mater, 5 Columbia students were arrested on campus for selling MDMA (AKA ecstasy), marijuana, Adderall, LSD, cocaine, and other drugs, like DMT and amphetamines. More up-the-minute reporting at bwog.com. MDMA, marijuana, and Adderall seem like drugs commonly used by college students. LSD and DMT are less common and a step up in risk, but still not surprising. Cocaine is the heavy hitter. Apparently, only one of the students sold cocaine and is facing the most serious charges.

I don't use drugs, but in college, I nevertheless had a peripheral sense of widespread drug use on campus and I wondered sometimes how students knew where to get it. I had (and have) no idea how to buy drugs, even the seemingly ubiquitous marijuana.

I believe if alcohol and tobacco products are legal, then marijuana, which I believe to be less dangerous for similar effect, should also be legal. But what is legal doesn't always seem right, and what seems right isn't always legal. The law is the law, and they're smart kids - they knew, or should have known, the risks they were taking.

FYI, as of this posting, all 5 students are still in custody in the Tombs according to VINE and the NYC DOC websites. Odd in the case of Michael Wymbs because the news reports said his parents attended his arraignment, hired a very expensive defense attorney, and were prepared to pay his bail. 1:40 pm Update: Wymbs is out, the others are still in.

Eric