If you haven’t already noticed, Mellow Mood, a “pipe and tobacco” store (aka head shop), is opening its second Portland location, on Southwest Broadway and Clay Street. For those not hip to the lingo, head shops sell glass pipes, bongs and other smoking supplies and accessories.
If you haven’t already noticed, Mellow Mood, a “pipe and tobacco” store (aka head shop), is opening its second Portland location, on Southwest Broadway and Clay Street. For those not hip to the lingo, head shops sell glass pipes, bongs and other smoking supplies and accessories.
Corinna Scott/VANGUARD STAFf
Though the products are clearly intended for marijuana use, the fact that weed is illegal forces establishments like Mellow Mood to publicly state that their products are “for tobacco use.”
While it goes without saying that Portland has a reputation for a lax approach to pot, it came as a bit of a shock to see that a head shop will be opening so close to the Portland State campus. Actually, given how close it is to Lincoln Hall, Mellow Mood could easily be considered “on campus.”
Having transferred to PSU from another university, I can confidently state that the shop’s proximity to campus is unconventional. At my previous university, the student body would have openly and vehemently opposed such a move (in fact, it successfully lobbied to prohibit a liquor store from opening in the vicinity of campus on three separate occasions).
No one’s foolish enough to believe that the presence of a head shop near campus will lure those who don’t already smoke into using marijuana. Its presence alone won’t derail any student’s academic career by hooking them on pot. But it doesn’t discourage the activity either, and although the store isn’t affiliated with the university in any way, its presence suggests that PSU allows for a weed-smoking culture.
Mellow Mood will make a statement about PSU, if only because of its proximity to it.
PSU’s image is at stake here. I can imagine a prospective student taking a leisurely tour of campus with his parents. They’re trying to get a “feel” for the place, and while strolling around the edge of campus they come across Mellow Mood. After having been impressed by the gorgeous Park Blocks, the excellent rec center and so forth, the parents suddenly become alarmed. They don’t want their kid exposed to marijuana use.
They figure Mellow Mood must’ve opened here because it’s expected to have a solid customer base, and in that moment they create a link between PSU and marijuana use. They become convinced that smoking weed must be not only common among students, but also open.
In this hypothetical scenario, PSU representatives can make any statement they like to these parents in order to distance the university from the head shop, but the connection is already established.
The fact remains that the head shop represents marijuana use, and its proximity to campus signifies a community in which marijuana use is prevalent, regardless of whether it actually is. Assuming the parents have a significant impact on the prospective student’s decision about where to attend college, they may attempt to persuade him to look elsewhere.
There may not have been anything PSU could do to prevent Mellow Mood from opening so close to campus. Because of its downtown location, it’s unavoidable that the campus is surrounded by unaffiliated businesses. But what surprises me is that there has been no discussion or open opposition made by PSU.
Regardless of a potential inability to prevent Mellow Mood’s setting up shop, an open opposition would have been a great public relations move. By doing so, PSU could have acknowledged that some people might make a connection between the university and the shop, and defend itself by claiming the school did all it could to prevent the opening. At the minimum, it would have helped preserve the school’s reputation.
While recreational marijuana use is no longer a cause for social panic (or enforcement, in the case of Colorado and Washington), it still carries negative connotations. With Mellow Mood being so near to PSU, those connotations may potentially start to apply to PSU’s campus.
PSU is already known as a liberal, URBAN university.
The street car connects PSU to the downtown. There are many headshops and porn shops along the way with a no more than 15 minute ride.
PSU is also known for being diverse…. I think this adds to that 🙂
What a completely stupid article. Not that I condone the illegal use of marijuana, but I think the proximity of this store to the university will have zero impact on the college. If anything, it will attract future alumni. Are you really that dense not to realize that pot smoking is nothing compared to the use of alcohol in the same school? How many students were killed this past decade due to alcohol? How many due to marijuana? These poor college kids (legal adults)… how can we keep them safe from themselves??
So is weed worse then alcohol just because it is legal. Which I would argue it is because of the number of probable alcoholics in congress. So its cool if the parents see a group of people hanging outside Paccinis( which was on campus when I went there(2007) and apparently was nothing compared to a rowdy dive that was there called the second act) puking drunk because thats legal. Yelling and peeing freely from the balcony or in the alcove next to it. All things I saw repeatedly as well as shady drunks brown bagging with there 40 oz in the morning around that spot. I was living in King Albert and would often chill with my girl in the grass before they tore it up and cemented it to smoke a joint and study. By the way I was in a graduate school program getting my masters and graduated with a 3.9 GPA and smoked pot the entire program it helped me relax to study. People like you are the reason we waist so much time,money and resources in the country fighting against something that is all natural and should be legal. I’m guessing you don’t smoke herbs. You most likely drink and smoke cigarettes because that’s legal. WTF
A concerned for the future PSU graduate student and teacher.
Sweet Jesus, this exhausted my cringe reflex.
Corinna, your article is terrible!
If you don’t think weed has done good things,go home and toss out all of your CDs..also,what about Carl Sagan ? Allen Ginsberg ? Etc and MANY other intelligent and educated people who see cannabis as a useful tool instead of a devil weed to be feared ?
Haha, this article is obviously written by a puritanical white male who has nothing better to worry about than his stereotypical privileged image. Not a block away are the park blocks, filled with people, MOST of which are young adults, ODing on actual narcotics daily that this obviously spoiled lil’ sh*t will never care to address, as these “kinds of people” are probably viewed as lesser humans. Yet he has a problem with the image of marijuana use, which has since been legalized, debunking his “straight and narrow” ethic pushing even more so. He probably should get out of my neighborhood and go back to Idaho and keep his head up his own rear to save his cringe-worthy self pride.
this article is a waste of space. Author has the emotional maturity of a 13 year old in some IV league prep school.
welcome to your real world education in Oregon.
author’s opinions regarding marijuana are roughly from the 1940’s idiotic prohibition era.
obviously has done zero research on benefits of marijuana on his community. marijuana use cuts down on alcohal and opiet abuse. theres a good reason why opiet addiction is lowest in states where people have legal access to marijuana.
again extremely ignorant, baseless, naive and some would say idiotic article.
BTW. I noticed my grades shot up when I first started experimenting with MJ. I was a sophmore in the college of business at OSU. my reading comprehension and ability to focus multiplied. grades went from B’s and C’s to mostly A’s.
After moving to PDX, i continued my education at PSU with great success.
I call outdated hog wash on this article.
Wow, zero likes. Pull that stick out. It’ll feel better.