The opinions represented in this article do not necessarily represent those of the staff of CUIndependent.com nor any of its sponsors.

ESPN.com decided to add their input in the debate over the hot topic of 4/20. Two articles entitled Higher education and We smoked it all were released. Both articles discuss marijuana as a problem in the world of college football. Higher education in particular voices strong disgust to the consumption of pot.

The issue that both articles revolve around is a study which revealed that about 27% of all college football players smoke pot.

(CU Independent Illustration/Josh Shettler)

Well you know what — get over it.

College students smoke pot. Nothing any journalistic article says will stop that, and everyone is aware that it is used. So why raise it as an issue?

According to a 2005 survey from USA Today, 33.3 percent of all college students smoke weed. So if one were to line up three college students, one of them is a smoker, and that was seven years ago before marijuana dispensaries became popular in the US. That’s quite a high percentage. However, the survey also reports that 83% of all campus arrests involved alcohol, not marijuana.

That means if one lined up ten college students who were arrested on campus, only one of them  may have been arrested for pot. The reason for this is that people who smoke pot limit their usage to a domestic activity.

So why make a big deal out of it?

If a kid can attend college, play college football, and sometimes get high with his or her friends, and not let it affect anyone else, why call it an issue. A strong social life is part of having a successful college life; so, why scrutinize how one chooses to achieve this?

Sure marijuana is illegal, and perhaps a student-athlete caught in possession has a small impact on the school’s reputation. However, college football players should not be expected to act like perfect role models. They’re kids, and a lot of times it’s that kind of pressure — to live up to unattainable expectations — that will make them smoke pot in the first place.

In the article We smoked it all, a University of Oregon football player admitted to ESPN that he and many other college football players smoke marijuana.  The article also mentions that many players use the drug before playing to help focus, and to decrease anxiety, fear, depression, and tension. The University of Oregon football team even has a code where if a player’s smoking habit effects their play, or another player, then the matter will be taken care of as a team.

Not only does this code sound perfectly reasonable, but it comes off as mature. College football players, who would rather get high then party and get drunk, do so in ways that minimize risk of being caught. Obviously, the few who are caught break the code by letting their smoking habits affect others, and thus deserve punishment.

But if one can maintain a high performance level and stay out of trouble, who cares if they choose to toke up every once in awhile?

The Oregon player who unveiled the smoking habits of some of the University of Oregon football players defended their actions by simply saying “Some of us smoke, and then we went out and won the Rose Bowl. Know what I mean.”

Yes, I do know what you mean, and hopefully one day the rest of the sports world will come to accept this too.

Contact CU Independent writer Eddie Quartin at Edward.quartin@colorado.edu.