Pink Elephants. I'd like to thank the academy, my fans, my family and most of all... my cat stinky. I couldn’t have achieved such dizzying heights of success without their support. I thank you all for reading, you may just get 3 or 4 more years of this crap (assuming nexus still exists and keeps publishing it) Speaking of dizzying heights... Like it or not, marijuana is fairly common amongst people of the 'standard' tertiary age group (18-22ish) and no doubt the drug is being utilized by many other people from the elderly to the disturbingly young. Although Marijuana is an enormous issue that proposes a cornucopia of avenues for exploration (and one that the nexus has 'tackled' before), today lets try to keep it simple, today I present a speel about a particular sub group of dope fiends. The 'Druggie' Flatmate. I do not smoke Marijuana, nor anything for that matter. I realize the health risks involved in all forms of smoking, and choose to say no, but always sticking to my ideology, your lungs are your own do with them as you wish (big slap for all the leisure students whom I see smoking every day). It is also important to state that as illustrated in the 5th stage of Eriksons theory of human development, adolescence often involves the investigation of behaviors considered to be anti-social and as such I have tried drugs in my time, it was an experience. I choose not to advocate such experiences. The Dope fiend is a fairly common type of flatmate (ive known a few). They can be prone to mood swings. They may leave the house rather depressed and return as the fantastic Willy Wonka with a troop of dazed oompa loompa's and a cabaret act to accompany. This is the flatmate who is responsible for mysterious burn marks on the cutlery, has a lock on their bedroom door, and may have low standards of personal hygiene and smelly/unkempt hair. The Lucid dope fiend may conduct his/her contraband dealings in a very covert manner, secret meetings held in locked rooms, windows and blinds drawn, code languages and highly clandestine spy games may be played. The exchange of grass for green can go down with precision of a surgeon, Nothing being spoken, no eye contact made, just a little brief flash of prestidigitation. Not all dopers are of this ilk, but lets pretend they are. Many (I said many) dope fiends will try imbuing the consumption of a illegal drug with all manner of socially uplifting catch-phrases. Perhaps giving it an air of rebellion, freedom of choice, pro life and down with the system!. They might talk about raging against the machine, standing up to the man, living their life by their own rules, Living instead of just being. Lets face facts kiddies, its all about getting high - never fool yourself into thinking otherwise. We all get 'high' whether its runners high, the high we feel in love the legal drugs we consume such as alcohol and caffeine or illegal drugs. Its all the same thing, each drug has a price to be payed, and the potential to cause us harm (physically, emotionally and socially). Detect a dope fiend by talking with them about any normal subject and seeing if you can illicit 5 more of the following 'stoneisims' within a 30 second period - Indicator words may include, Sweet, cruisey, heavy, sweet as, mint, whoa, hard-core, man, chickie, no-doubt, freaky and true. Be careful as these indicators can accidentally lead you too a moron/skateboarder (two species that are commonly confused with the dope fiend). Of course this is a ridiculous test it is impossible to tell who consumes marijuana by simply talking to them as many young people have fallen victim to this thing where u know less words and stuff, you know, small um......wordyness no, um hang on.....Nah, IM trippin, Sweet as man. Whether you believe marijuana is good, bad or otherwise - It's an integral part of our youth culture and thus it will remain a part of our flats, sports teams and social circles - whether you choose to consume it or not. If you choose to use marijuana, don’t fall into the trap that it's all smiles and sunshine, like any drug there are innate dangers involved. IM not berating people for being associated with marijuana, Im suggesting if you are using it ignorant of the potential dangers involved your not only and idiot, your an idiot under the influence of drugs. Wisdom: Is freedom of choice a right or a privilege?. Web: www.geocities.com/thewyrmhole