The trip was a study abroad program offered through the department of Journalism and Technical Communications at Colorado State University. The program started in England, then moved from Belgium, to Holland, to Germany, and ended in France.

PART TWO

Belgium is a beautiful country graced with breath-taking architecture, quaint parks and open-minded people who have very down-to-earth attitudes. The transition from London to our second destination was very drastic, but very easy to make.

While in Belgium we met with Dr. Steve Paulussen, professor at Ghent University. Dr. Paulussen has done extensive research on Belgium media.

Paulussen believes there will be new trends in journalism, different from the way Belgium knows it today.

“The mind shift we are trying to make is that it we are not so much journalists anymore, but communicators,” Paulussen said.

This is a conversion that the United States has been perfecting over the past few years. For example, the Journalism and Technical Communication department at CSU has re-strung the program to gear students toward a multimedia communication focus, rather than solely technical journalism.

Though Belgium is a little behind the conversions being made in the rest of the world, Dr. Paulussen emphasizes the idea of ABJs.

“ABJs are All Platform Journalists. We are striving to get the younger students to be more cross-media minded. Right now it is difficult to find multicultural students,” Paulussen said. “Most who focus on print don’t know enough about online and vice versa. It makes it hard to offer some courses when students simply don’t want them.”

Paulussen has done research on online news for 10 years. His research shows that, in Belgium’s future, people will most likely not pay for news.

But there will be extensive conversion trends.

“News is going to be more about collaborations. I think companies are going to be more dependent on the freelance market because the mainstream isn’t paying well,” Paulussen said.

In the United States, the demand for freelance journalists has been on the rise, supporting Dr. Paulussen’s research.

The only way to survive may mean subsidies and funding from the government, potentially sparking ethical concerns.

“Now more than ever journalists need to be critical and transparent. We need to focus on professionalism,” Paulussen said.

Though the future of journalism is cloudy, one thing is certain: it is crucial for newspapers to make the online shift in order to survive. And the ones that don’t will most likely disappear completely.

While places like London, Paris and Frankfurt are making fast-paced moves to adapt to the future of technology and communication, Belgium doesn’t seem to be in any hurry. Is this a result of the laid-back, carefree attitude of the Belgium people? Does the lack of 24/7 cell phone use and technology help or harm Belgium? What does this mean for the future of communication of Belgium media? Will they make the transition?

Self-Reflection on the Quaint Country:

Travel journalists and economists argue that Belgium has possibly the highest quality of life, distinguished by their world records for high productivity and low poverty.
I experienced this high quality of life personally through Belgium’s excellent food, good beer, open-mindedness and overall good living.

The first thing we did upon arriving in Belgium was a Big Bus Tour of Brussels, the capital of Belgium. The city was drastically different than London. The architecture is Romanesque, the people are laid back and the media regulations are much more lax compared to the United States.

But the biggest difference between England and Belgium was the lack of pride for their royalty. It would be hard to visit London and not know about Queen Elizabeth and her grandsons. But in Belgium, the citizens have a lack of interest in the royal family. This may be because the people of Belgium make very little distinctions between classes and social status. It doesn’t matter if you are a rich banker or a blue-collar worker, Belgians allow everyone to obtain the same respect and privileges.

One highlight of Belgium was our day trip to Bruges, which is a very touristy town with a non-touristy feel. I was convinced that the citizens of Belgium have a much closer social distance compared to London and the United States. Very few people are on their cell phones, and are still very personally connected to each other.

Aside from the incredible waffles and chocolate, Belgium reminded me a lot of Fort Collins: quiet, quaint and filled with friendly people.

Our adventures in Belgium ended in Ghent, where we met Dr. Paulussen and three Ghent University journalism students – Khael, Dominique and Karen.

All three were very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about American politics and culture. After talking to them, it was clear that they had very liberal yet grounding views on topics such as religion, socialism and homosexual rights. Their intelligence and composure opened my eyes to a lot of things that we, as Americans, can sometimes be ignorant.

Overall, Belgium ranks at the top of my list for countries to visit while in Europe. They have the right combination of food, beer, good people, laid back personalities and a shared love for life, which creates a peaceful atmosphere.

It was easy to understand why Belgium is economically and characteristically a rich country.

Stayed tuned for our travel adventures in Holland, which will be posted next week.

The trip was a study abroad program offered through the department of Journalism and Technical Communications at Colorado State University. The program started in England, then moved from Belgium, to Holland, to Germany, and ended in France.

PART ONE

The first leg of our trip was spent in London, England, where we met with Jack Starks of Orange Telecom. Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators and provides Internet, television and mobile services for over 131 million customers.

The strategy at Orange focuses on innovation, convergence and effective cost management. Keeping the customer in mind, Orange provides products that are user-friendly and simple in a fast-paced and ever-changing technological world.

Like many companies in the United States, Orange is making the switch to online resources to keep their company name toward the top of Google searches.

Starks is a member of the advertising team and works closely with the digital team, creating television ads, product placement and building social networking sites.

“Integration is the biggest buzzword right now. Social networking has taken off. Orange is definitely making the switch to online networking sites,” Starks said. “We are learning, like a lot of other companies, how to effectively advertise on the Internet. We have spent some money well and some poorly when it comes to advertising on the Internet.”

Recently in the United States, the switch to online media has been the trend for many companies. After talking to Starks, it seems London is right along side the U.S. in regard to switching, mirroring moves like integrating online networking and advertising.

Though the U.K. is thousands of miles away, the effects of new technology have posed the same threats and changes as they have in the United States.

Blackberries, iPods, Facebook and even using Facebook while on your Blackberry are used by people in London constantly while riding the Tube, walking to work, or sitting down to lunch. These characteristics are also commonly seen in daily life of U.S. citizens.

To some, the future of technology can be scary. But Orange wants to assure customers that “the future is bright.”

“We want to send the message of being optimistic about the future of technology. Don’t worry, we’ll keep it simple,” Starks said.

In a world that is constantly changing it is nice to know there are companies, like Orange, who value their customers and simplicity.

Personal Reflection on the Busy City:

London is full of contrast because of the amount of history and authenticity accompanied by new age shops, restaurants and entertainment. It is far from home but everything is only slightly different. They have the same stores with different clothing, the same physical appearance with different accents.

While in London, we did a lot of touristy things like wander around the city, take pictures and stop at every statue or monument. All of these aspects come with traveling to a new place, accompanied with feelings of frustration. Being a tourist of another culture can be exhausting and degrading at times, but it is the only way to encounter people and places and seek adventure in far-off lands.

The people in London were very busy and somewhat unfriendly, which is probably a product of most big and populous cities. Both men and women were dressed very fashionable and business professional. No woman was seen without her designer bag and sunglasses. I quickly realized that London is an expensive place to live, and if you can afford to live there, you can afford to keep up with fashion and flaunt it.

A highlight of London was visiting the Tower of London, which has been the seat of British government and living headquarters of monarchs, the site of renowned political imprisonment and is the current keeper of the Crown Jewels.

We toured the old castle grounds and saw prison cells, tombs and of course the Crown Jewels. After visiting the Tower of London, I realized that America is a teenager compared to our European Great-grandfather.

Other activities in London included visiting museums like The National Portrait Gallery, seeing Big Ben and taking the famous Big Bus Tour of the city. All of these activities were necessary in order to see as much of the city as we could in three days, but were a once in a lifetime deal. Let’s just say I could come back to London and do without the Big Bus Tour.

If you are looking for a quiet, quaint and relaxing European town, I would not recommend London. Though London was a memorable city filled with history and distinction, I would put it at the bottom of my list of the places we traveled to in Europe. London reminded me of New York City: a lot of people in small spaces, impersonal and dirty. However, I am very grateful that I was able to tour this city and witness its history first hand.

Stayed tuned for our travel adventures in Belgium, which will be posted next week.

Standing 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing in at 110 pounds, she walks into the lounge of the Lory Student Center countering the weight of a bulky black shoulder bag, which looks like it weighs half as much as she does.

But don’t get the wrong impression.  If there is anyone who can shoulder a load, it’s Scott, who at 26 years old has shared lenses with some of the biggest names in the photography business, and has scaled up to 22,000 feet on and around Mount Everest as a photographic assistant to National Geographic cinematographer David Breashears.

“People shouldn’t follow a specific pattern,” Scott, a senior journalism major, says, gesturing with her hands. “You should make your own.”

And indeed Scott has sewn an intricate quilt of connections and opportunities in pursuing her passion for photography.

Starting at her high school in Omaha, Neb., Scott began taking classes in the development and technique of photography, but according to her twin brothers Steve and Tom Scott, she always had a knack for it.

“I have a lot of memories of her always trying to take photos of us at different locations,” Tom Scott, 20, says.  A sophomore psychology major at St. Louis University, Tom Scott recalls how Scott would drive him and his twin to interesting places in order to set up the perfect shot.

“She would take us to schools or parks just to take photos,” Tom Scott says.  “For our Father’s Day present, she made us dress up and we each wore signs [that said], ‘I love you, Dad.’ She took us to a park and got photos of us all.  She was always into using [photos] as presents.”

Once she graduated from high school, however, Scott’s educational path became a bit erratic, and she temporarily abandoned her hobby.

Enrolled as a philosophy major until her sophomore year at Lake Forest College in Chicago, Illin., Scott didn’t like the college and transferred to Colorado State University in 2002.

Scott took classes at CSU until she was a junior, when she realized her love for photography and dropped out of the university for the Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, Calif. She graduated from Brooks in 2008 with a degree in Professional Photography, then returned to CSU to complete a journalism degree.  She is set to graduate in May.

“I didn’t think she was ever going to graduate,” says Steve Scott, a 20-year-old sophomore exercise science major at the University of Nebraska in Omaha. Steve Scott said he was initially unsure whether his sister would achieve much success.

“She kept changing her mind,” Steve says. “I kind of thought she would end up screwing up because she left, but she came back with two bachelor’s degrees, a trip to Mount Everest working with National Geographic, [and] these internships with huge companies in a short period of time.  She’s had more than I probably will in 10 years.”

Armed with an unusual talent and fierce tenacity, Scott journeyed across the country in order to gain experience with some of the world’s most renowned photographers.   Her resume includes internships at the Mark Seliger Studio in New York City, as well as the Norman Jean Roy Studio in Los Angeles, where Scott sharpened her skills as a photographic assistant.

Both studios are regular contributors to Vanity Fair and Vogue magazines, and Scott worked in the same space as legendary photographers Mario Testino, Annie Leibovitz and Patrick Demarchelier.

She also obtained career know-how from a 2009 internship with advertising powerhouse Crispin Porter and Bogusky in Boulder, a move that rounded out her already impressive knowledge of the industry.

“You really have to pick a specialization [in photography],” Scott says.  “[Now] I can do everything, so when I’m ready to specialize I’ll be ready to jump into it. I think I understand every part of the business.”

And it’s not that Scott is arrogant about her talents. According to her friend Heather Goodrich, 27, she just has a thorough understanding of who she is and what she can do.

“Steph is a really caring, thoughtful, precise and driven person,” says Goodrich, who is also the developmental advisor for College Avenue magazine and editor in chief of FS Life. “Steph’s work is real. No matter what she’s shooting she’s capturing the essence of what is being told. She is going to be really successful because she has incredible drive.  It’s insane how focused and driven she is.”

And sitting forward in her chair with her arms resting on the table, Scott does emanate a sense of order and directness.  Her light brown hair, striped with lighter streaks of blonde, is combed neatly into a thick ponytail that skims the middle of her back.  Her voice is low but her words are bold and quickly delivered, and she seems to catch every detail in the room with a glance from her sharp gray eyes – eyes that see a different view of the world which she translates from the lens of her Canon 5D camera.

“I love portrait work,” Scott says. “Getting to know people and seeing a side that they don’t normally express unless you have that intimate setting. Being able to create your own experience with people and express it is amazing.

“[And] the type of photography [that] can contribute toward a greater cause than enjoyment, [where] there’s more of a higher purpose to the work I’m doing. That would be ideal for me.”

It was this enthusiasm and work ethic that secured her the valuable internship positions and, ultimately, the pièce de résistance of her career so far: a six-week stint in the Himalayas documenting a National Geographic expedition with photographer David Breashears, whom she met while working in an outdoor retail store in Chicago.

Scott continued to e-mail Breashears about his work, and eventually he called her in the fall of 2009 and invited her to assist in his project.

“It was kind of agonizing because I was like, ‘s—, I’m so close to graduating, what do I do?’” Scott says.  “I went to all of my professors with the assumption that I wanted to let them know personally that I was going to have to drop out again and they were like ‘hey we’ll work with you.’  Everyone was so supportive and awesome.”

Scott arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Oct. 14 of 2009, loaded with 12 bags of camera equipment for the six-person team involved in the project.  Then Scott, Breashears, three Nepalese sherpas and a few Tibetan porters drove to Xangmu, China, and to the Rongbuk monastery, which is close to the north base camp of Mount Everest.

“I was a photo assistant, so basically I was documenting David documenting glaciers,” Scott says. “The project was taking match photography from 1920s and 1890s photographs, and based on GPS locations we took pictures from the same spots those explorers were, and showed change.

“There are only one-fourth of the glaciers left, so there’s a serious issue in the Himalayas glaciers. All of that water provides for five of the largest rivers in Asia, so for the people whose livelihoods depend on that water, it’s going to be a huge issue.”

After thoroughly photographing the mountain region from the north side, the team intended to explore another 8,000 meter peak close in proximity to Mount Everest, but their permits were denied and they returned to Mount Everest, this time documenting glacial lakes forming on the south side.

“We kind of orbited around [Mount Everest],” Scott says, pointing to photos of the mountain on her laptop.  “We did the circle from north to south base camp – it was a dream I always wanted.”

In living her dream, Scott had to operate outside of her comfort zone.

“It broadened my horizons as to what my limitations are physically and mentally,” Scott says.  “Hiking for eight hours and having your lungs feel completely raw and getting to your camp and then realizing that you still have to hike [for another] two hours up to the photo point and then work—it’s nuts.”

Scott’s friends and family expressed worry and excitement about her opportunity, but were confident in Scott’s ability to endure the difficult conditions she faced.

“I was really nervous for her, but she’s tough and I knew she could do it,” Tom says. “From hearing some of the experiences she had, I guess I should have been more worried about it but she’s a tough and strong person.”

Scott’s boyfriend, Kelly Adair, 25, had only been dating Scott for a few months when she left for Nepal.

“I was concerned,” says Adair, a University of Colorado in Boulder graduate. “We were early on in our relationship, so it made our relationship a lot stronger from the get-go because we would correspond as much as we could via e-mail. It made me realize what she was going through just by the way she was describing the things that she was doing.  I knew how high she was going and how it can be very dangerous to do that.”

And though she says she would take the trip again “in a heartbeat,” Scott says the expedition was “the biggest love/hate experience” she has ever had and that it took a severe toll on her health.

“I got altitude sickness one night where I had to breathe myself down in the tent,” Scott says.   “I had a massive migraine – it was pretty scary.  It was too high for helicopters so it was kind of a mental issue at that point.  [I had to] deal with it. Altitude deals with you in funny ways. It slows your thinking [and] it slows your breathing. I felt deficient in every possible way up there. People are not meant to be that high.”

Also affected by the extreme altitude were Scott’s eating and sleeping habits.  According to Scott, she didn’t get much of either.

“You don’t eat up there ‘cause you’re not hungry,” Scott says.  “It’s a matter of really monitoring what you eat and what you drink.  I didn’t sleep at all up there. You can’t really sleep until the early morning hours.  You just kind of toss and turn.”

Aside from losing about 12 pounds from her already diminutive frame, Scott also had to cope with severe illness during the latter portion of the trip.

“I got so sick—the sickest I’ve ever been,” she says.  “I couldn’t keep down fluids but I also couldn’t keep them in.  I [was] just expelling all of my water.  I had to take medicine to keep the medicine I needed down.”

Once the team returned from Everest, Scott was able to receive the medical attention she needed, and she spent another week in Nepal recovering and eating pizza from a local Italian restaurant.  She returned to the U.S. on Nov. 23, exhausted but satisfied with her adventure.

“I think learning my own limits was the thing that I took away from it,” Scott says. “Knowing that my limits are limitless if you set your mind to it [and that] if you have no other option, you really can do whatever you want. Not many people have the opportunity to realize that about themselves.”

Once she was back in Fort Collins, Scott had to return to her busy life, which included working as a photography editor for College Avenue magazine and completing the assignments she missed while away.  Scott currently lives in Boulder and commutes to class three to five times per week.

“To shoot for National Geographic and to go to Tibet and to climb Everest in and of itself – each separate thing is incredible,” Goodrich says.  “But for her to do all of those together in college during [her] senior year with capstone courses, she’s incredible.  She really can do everything. I don’t know how she manages it all.”

On top of juggling her schoolwork, internships, various photography jobs and outdoor activities with Adair, Scott also finds time to reinforce a strong relationship with her twin brothers.

She smiles when she receives a text from her brother Tom and murmurs, “Tommy.”

According to both brothers, Scott is the glue that holds their family unit together.

“Both of our parents have been married a couple of times each, so it is what you make of it,” Scott says, shrugging her shoulders. “You can be super maladjusted, or you can count on what you have, so we just make a point that the three of us do what we do and always stay that way, and then everything else can circle around that if that’s the case.”

Every year for the twins’ birthday, Scott and her brothers go to a different stadium to see a baseball game together.  Scott and Steve are Red Sox fans, while Tom prefers the Yankees.

“Every cool experience I’ve had has come directly or indirectly from her,” Tom says. “Out of everyone in my life, she’s probably the closest person to me.  She helped me a lot growing up and was always there when I needed to talk to someone.”

And talk she does. But after a 54-minute interview, Stephanie Scott hoists up her black shoulder bag and pushes chair in under the table.  And all 5 feet and 4 inches of her, that has focused a camera with the industry’s biggest names and climbed part way up the world’s highest mountain, turns to go.  She still has things to do.

Evan McCormick, 20, is a zoology major at Colorado State University.  In his freshman year of college, some of his friends invited him to go to an event put on by the student organization Not for Sale.  This event forever changed his direction in life.

McCormick learned in depth about human trafficking, which is the act of people being tricked and persuaded to leave their country – or forcibly taken – to work for someone without being paid.  In short, slavery.

With his blonde hair perfectly smoothed down on his head and his inviting tone of voice, he took this new challenge head on. 

At the event, three different types of human trafficking were stimulated, as if McCormick himself were a slave.  The people running the event treated all participants as if they were slaves of the sex industry, sweat shops or soldiers. 

McCormick knew this was not something he could blink away.

“My heart was just broken for it, so I was like, ‘I can’t just sit here and do nothing,’” McCormick said with passion in his eyes. “I have to do something about this.”

After this event, he enrolled in the Not for Sale Investigator’s Academy in San Francisco, which took place last summer.  The two-week course taught him how to research and document human trafficking. McCormick recalls this as an amazing experience.

“They taught us how to do the mapping system online and what we are looking for whenever we go out investigating this stuff,” McCormick said.  “Basically, anything there is to know about human trafficking they touched on.”

McCormick said he learned certain red flags to look for when doing investigations, such as a place with bars on the windows and possibly a camera out front.  The name of a place will often change, making advertisements an easy source of information.  Human trafficking areas are often disguised as massage parlors. 

As McCormick’s passion for promoting awareness to stop human trafficking grows, it is powered by a spiritual connection.

“I’m a Christian and God is the biggest part of my life,” McCormick said.  “That really plays into this passion about human trafficking – seeking justice and showing love and just loving everyone and everything.”

McCormick’s good friend of two years, Bruce Mayberry, 21, shares this deep connection with God. 

“God gives him the love he needs to love others,” Mayberry said.  “Faith is something that feeds his desire to be a part of Not for Sale – he gives himself over for it.”

As a child, McCormick was always exposed to religion because his father is a pastor.  With this career, his family moved around a lot. 

Born on Feb. 9, 1990 in the bay area of California, his father took a job in Indiana when McCormick was three. At the age of 10 the family moved to Arizona, and at 15 they moved back to the same area of California. 

Although moving around a lot as a child often bothers people, McCormick was not fazed by it.

“Looking back now, every area was perfect for the time period in my life,” McCormick said.

Through all the moving, McCormick established a strong faith in God, but it wasn’t until the summer before he left for college that he fully believed. 

For the past three summers, McCormick has gone on a weeklong houseboat trip with people from his church.  He had not planned on going again, until he found out there was one spot left on the trip and it had already been paid for. 

He took that as a sign that God wanted him to go on the trip, so he did.  McCormick knew that if he went, God would show him why he was supposed to go.

“I wrote out a prayer telling God that I expect him to show up that week and take over my life,” McCormick said. 

At the time, McCormick didn’t feel completely immersed in God at all times, which is what he wanted.   

During the trip, there was required solo time where attendees simply sat by themselves and read the Bible for three hours.  McCormick used this time to pray to God.

“Alright God, I’m just going to sit and listen and be in silence – I just want to hear your voice right now,” McCormick prayed.

Finally he heard the voice of God, telling him that he was going to talk to a girl on the trip named Ana tonight, and He wanted him to tell Ana that He loves her.  McCormick sat there for a while, confused and in awe.

He did not know much about Ana, so he wasn’t sure how God’s plan would work out. 

Sure enough, McCormick had an in-depth conversation that night with Ana.  She told him her life story, and most importantly, how she felt unloved.  She told him she didn’t feel like God hears her prayers and she didn’t think He loved her.

At this moment McCormick gave her God’s message, that He did love Ana.

“We just sat there in awe witnessing the miracle that just happened,” McCormick said.   “That’s exactly what she needed to hear and that’s exactly what I needed to know that God exists.  Since then my relationship with God has grown.”

Now McCormick feels God in everything he does in life, including stopping human trafficking.

“I couldn’t do this by myself,” McCormick said.

McCormick is going to Uganda this summer for four weeks to work with various projects involved with Not for Sale. 

“Our goal there is to go document all of those so we can have some on file to use for awareness,” McCormick said.

He will be investigating and documenting cases of human trafficking, working at a school being built for former child soldiers and helping construct an amphitheater so the community can come together using music. 

He stays motivated by knowing that everything he does could be to help one person better their lives.

“This could be for one slave to be freed, that’s why I do it,” McCormick said. 

McCormick’s girlfriend, Britny Beffort, 19, has known him for almost two years.  She is amazed by his drive to better the world and fully supports his trip to Uganda. 

She describes McCormick as caring, inviting and genuine.

“Evan has a heart for God,” Beffort said.  “After talking with him for five minutes you want to share your life story with him.” 

Beffort said he has a unique personality that makes him a perfect candidate for all that he does for human trafficking.

“A lot of what makes him unique is his heart for people whether his knows them or not,” Beffort said.

McCormick’s fantasy is to be in the presence of God, in heaven.  He feels he reaches close to this by being surrounded by nature.

McCormick enjoys playing the drums, guitar and ukulele.  He loves to rock climb and do anything involving nature. 

With the help of God, McCormick is motivated to change the lives of former slaves.  He is very involved in Not for Sale and his presence makes those around him feel at ease. 

“I love building relationships and having fun with people,” McCormick said. “To me, the only real things in life are God and relationships – that’s all that’s going to matter and it lasts eternally.”

Photo by Stephanie Scott

Last December during finals week, Helen went on a “study bender.”

Like she does often when it comes down to crunch time, Helen, then a junior interior design major, took Adderall to help her make it through a mountain of stress-inducing projects.

“When you take Adderall, it makes it so you’re really focused on what you’re doing,” she says. Coffee doesn’t help – it doesn’t make her concentrate, only stay awake. “If I’ve taken Adderall, I can turn on my iPod and get in the zone.”

But the bender turned into a marathon.

After four days and no sleep, Helen started to feel the side effects. When her jaw locked up, she chewed gum. An occasional cigarette break dampened her shakes for a little, but they never disappeared. Eventually, she can’t remember when, she passed a threshold.

“At that point, I was hallucinating and not there. That’s really unhealthy and I wouldn’t recommend it,” she says. “If I were a normal person, I would be concerned.”

A few months later during mid-terms, Helen went on another bender, taking at least one time-release pill – which can keep her awake for up to 11 hours at a time – every day for three weeks. She recently transferred from Colorado State University to Front Range Community College in Fort Collins, but chose to remain anonymous because she uses Adderall without a prescription.

“I wouldn’t say I’m addicted to Adderall because I don’t take it on a daily basis,” she says, mentioning that she only buys and keeps 2 to 3 pills at a time. “I just take one when I need to study. It’s like steroids.”

And Helen is not alone.

Adderall, a stimulant used to treat Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, is breaking the stereotype that drug abuse is always recreational. A 2008 study by the National Institute of Drug Abuse looked at over 35 years of drug trends and found college students are twice as likely to abuse prescription stimulants as their peers outside of college.

“I believe prescription drugs can be very dangerous and there’s a reason they are controlled,” says Mari Strombom, the acting director of residence life at CSU. “It concerns me when people are using prescription drugs to self-medicate. I believe there is the potential for future harm.”

Not only is Adderall abuse seen as acceptable, but the pills are also more readily available than ever. The FDA estimates around 30 million Adderall prescriptions were written in the U.S. between 1999 and 2003, more than any other country.

Research suggests that Adderall abuse is a cultural phenomenon. A 2005 report in the journal “Addiction” found connections between a high-stress college environment and Adderall abuse. At institutions with strict admissions standards, such as Ivy League schools, the usage rate was as high as 25 percent – a number that continues to grow.

Beyond Adderall and the Study Hall

Adderall is just one aspect of the legal drug culture. Prescription drug abuse is a growing trend across college campuses and the United States as a whole. According to the 2009 National Collegiate Health Assessment, an annual survey of over 80,000 college students, nearly 13 percent of students reported that they abused prescription drugs, the third most commonly used substances behind alcohol and marijuana.

“We’ve definitely seen an increase [in prescription drug abuse] in the past 10 years,” says Jim Weber, director of the DAY Program, a substance abuse counseling program at CSU. “It’s much more acceptable to this current generation.”

From 1999 to 2004, the number of young adults aged 15 to 24 who died from unintentional overdose nearly doubled, according to a 2007 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of the drugs used, most were prescription painkillers like OxyContin – heroin’s legal equivalent – which Weber claims can be the most addictive.

“Its perceived safety is equal to risk,” Weber says. “Culturally, there’s this divide. We don’t see pills as bad. This contributes to this false sense of safety and security that says ‘It’s safe because a doctor gave it to me.’”

Along with depressants like Xanax, stimulants and painkillers make up a trifecta of the most highly abused prescriptions. Adderall and OxyContin are both classified as schedule II narcotics by the Drug Enforcement Administration, sharing a place alongside cocaine and methamphetamine.

Despite the numbers, education and research efforts targeting college students have been few and far between. The NCHA only recently included specific questions about prescriptions – much as they have done with alcohol and marijuana since the survey began in 2000 – making it difficult to draw any broad, long-term conclusions about student abuse.

After participating since 2003, CSU stopped giving the NCHA survey to everyone but student athletes in the spring of 2008 – the same semester prescription drug questions were introduced.

“We just wanted behavioral data about our students,” says Debra Morris, a health educator with the CSU Health Network who helped administer the survey. “Why are prescription drugs not included? I just don’t know. So many students come to university with prescription drugs, and other people will want to use them to stay awake longer. So yes, I think it’s a concern.”

The Other Side of Prescription Addiction

Eric Lintz, a detective with the CSU Police Department and Northern Colorado Drug Task Force, claims that even at the law enforcement level, prescription drugs are not a hot topic.

“It’s not fancy, it’s not glamorous,” Lintz says. “Someone in the office says, “I’m going to get a guy with three grams of coke,’ compared to ‘I’m going to buy three grams of pills.’ It’s not the same. It’s not sexy.”

In the past twelve months, Lintz claims that around a dozen college-aged students were arrested for selling heroin to undercover officers in Northern Colorado. Heroin is a cheap alternative to the more expensive prescription opioids.

“These kids at one time were majoring in school,” Lintz says. “But as they drop out they still have to eat and still have to live, so they go to the only thing they know. And that’s selling drugs.”

The 2005 “Addiction” study adds weight to Lintz’s experience. It found that students who abused prescription stimulants were 20 times more likely to use cocaine and 10 times more likely to use marijuana.

“If you’re doing something that doesn’t require brain power but just focus, my friends and I will smoke weed,” Helen admits, saying that marijuana is better than cigarettes for counteracting the side effects of Adderall. In addition, she has taken Xanax, ecstasy, Ambien and acid.

Despite its perceived prevalence on a college campus, prescription drug abuse at CSU is hardly documented. David McKelfresh, the executive director of assessment and research for the division of student affairs, and Pam McCracken, the communications director for the CSU Health Network, both say the university is not collecting data on prescription drug abuse by CSU students.

“When it comes to feeding the mind or feeding the addiction, the addiction wins,” Lintz believes.

For now, Weber is the main point of contact for students who have struggled with abuse. A point he stresses to students is that taking drugs without a prescription is a felony, no matter how they are taken or sold.

“They’re safe if used in accordance with how they’re prescribed,” Lintz says. Like several officials, he relates prescription drug education efforts to alcohol in the wake of Sam Spady’s death in 2004 – as reactionary. “I think the problem is bigger than even law enforcement recognizes. I hope it doesn’t take someone OD’ing for the community to wake up to the problem.”

When asked if she could make it through finals without the help of Adderall, Helen hesitates.

“None of it’s safe, obviously, but when I take it I know I’m not going to die,” she says. “Everything other than Adderall I take recreationally. And I don’t do that often. I could do finals week [without it], but why would I want to? It would be counter-productive.”

Eli Traufield, co-owner of the O2 Market and Lounge, explained that the oxygen provided at the oxygen bar is 92 percent oxygen mixed with aromatherapies that come in powder form. The non-medical powder is put into water and mixed in a filter. Then a hose pumps the oxygen out of the filter, through a sanitary nose pipe and into the body.

This recreational oxygen is not 100 percent pure oxygen, Traufield said, because that would be the type of oxygen that is used for medical needs.

Though this particular oxygen is non-medical, Traufield said recreational oxygen can help people struggling to adjust to Fort Collins’ high altitude, among other health benefits.

There are many effects that people can feel after using recreational oxygen. One person who enjoys these effects is Mike Walsh, a senior horticulture major at Colorado State University. Walsh was hired at the O2 Market and Lounge in April after taking a liking to recreational oxygen.

“For me, it’s really just a relaxing sensation,” Walsh said. “The atmospheric oxygen nowadays is a lot lower than it has been in the past, so it really feels better in my mind.”

With the 15 flavors that the oxygen lounge offers, the scents are supposed to make a difference in how the person will feel afterward. Walsh said the aromatherapy is what evokes the feeling that comes after inhaling the oxygen.

Walsh said using oxygen can get rid of his headaches and make him either more energized or calm depending on the scent he chooses.

“Sometimes I feel calmed after I try the lavender, but I feel more uplifted after trying the lime or the wintergreen,” Walsh said. “Overall, I feel really healthy and relaxed.”

The oxygen bar is a new addition to Fort Collins, but another relaxing recreational inhalant has been around a bit longer – hookah. Fort Collins is home to two hookah bars, one of which is Narghile Nights Hookah Lounge, located on College Avenue.

Aria Khosravi, owner of Narghile Nights, said the social aspect of smoking hookah contributes to this trend.

“I don’t think many people come here just to smoke,” Khosravi said. “It’s to have fun and socialize.”

While Walsh has tried smoking hookah, he said that after discovering the oxygen lounge, he realized that health benefits play a huge role in his preference for recreational oxygen.

Though there have not been many aggressive studies done to prove the exact effects of smoking hookah on the body, according to Kirk DePriest, a Pulmonary Critical Care Physician at the Medical Center of the Rockies, doctors are concerned that it may cause cancer. Additionally, the nicotine that is present in tobacco smoked through hookah pipes raises concerns for doctors.

“Anything where we see addictive medicine uprising can be a concern,” DePriest said.

Freshman political science major Ally Gandy said while she knows smoking hookah is bad for her, she has been doing it off and on since she was 15 years old.

“Anything that you put into your lungs is going to affect you,” Gandy said. “It’s something you have to deal with.”

Traufield claims his business is a healthy alternative to hookah bars.

“Smoking is not for everybody, but oxygen is,” Traufield said. “It’s OK to inhale.”

According to Traufield, the experience is different for everyone, but possible effects that oxygen can have on customers are increased focus, energy, circulation, weight loss, digestion and decreased stress.

“I don’t see any disadvantages,” Traufield said.

But while recreational oxygen use does not have hazardous effects like hookah may have, DePriest said that there is no proven health benefit of inhaling anything but air because our bodies were not made to consume more oxygen than the air provides.

Khosravi said he never lies to his customers when they ask him what the health effects of smoking hookah are.

“Anytime anybody asks me a question about the health effects, I shoot them straight,” Khosravi said. “I tell them that there are health effects associated with this. We are very open on it – there are no secrets.”

He knows that smoking hookah is not for everyone, but wants to offer a new thing for people to try.

“I believe that everybody has a right to choose what they want to do,” Khosravi said. “I believe anything in moderation is fine, and that’s why we put warning labels on all of our menus.”

Although it might be thought that hookah has the social benefit that oxygen bars do not, Walsh said that he often sees large groups of people coming in to the O2 lounge. Even though the point of the oxygen bar is to relax and breathe, he said that you could still get the same calming effects while talking to friends.

Traufield also describes the oxygen lounge as a social atmosphere.

“It’s a non-alcoholic place to come and relax and hang out,” Traufield said. “We wanted a place of healing. It’s a ‘home away from home’ type of environment.”

Photo by Chelsea Dunfee

Pint glasses of Red Bull line the bar with shot glasses filled with Jägermeister balancing on the rims. A crowd forms as the first shot is tipped over, creating a chain reaction and knocking over shot after shot. Eager hands reach for the glasses as the final shot makes it tumultuous splash, ending yet another successful “Jäger-train.”

But as it turns out, students are getting more than just entertainment out of this lighthearted way to consumer Jägerbombs— they’re getting intoxicated faster without knowing it. As the consumption of energy drinks and alcohol becomes more popular, people may be inclined to develop a dependency on alcohol, according to a study by the University of Florida published in April in the journal “Addictive Behaviors.”

“Drinkers [may] underestimate their levels of intoxication and consume larger quantities of alcohol,” says Dennis Thombs, co-author of the study and associate professor in the Department of Behavioral Science and Community Health at UF. In a 2008 study, Thombs theorizes that this may increase the tolerance for alcohol, creating a “chronic pattern of drinking.”

Energy drinks use alone has grown exponentially in the last several years and become a necessary part of college life as a quick perk for the sleep deprived, according to “Beyond the Buzz: Inside Energy Drinks,” an article from the summer 2008 issue of College Avenue. Mix that with alcohol, and students may have an evolved addiction, merging two into one.

While bars are seemingly making profit from Jägerbombs and other similar beverages, the debate is on among students about whether consuming the drinks provides an added perk or pitfall.

“I get really tired when I drink, so having a little bit of an upper makes the experience that much better,” says Jordan Kelly, a sophomore biological sciences major. “The fact that it’s double the high gives energy drinks and alcohol its appeal. You can have the best of both worlds. You can drink without feeling like you’re going to pass out.”

And these actions are exactly what the CSU Health Network wants students to avoid. The consequences of mixing alcohol with high-caffeine beverages is a riskier alternative to drinking alcohol alone, says Jane Higgins, a medical doctor and staff physician at Hartshorn Health Services.

“You get the depressant effects of alcohol and you get the increased perception of performance enhancement from energy drinks,” she says. “Your skills are worse, but you think they’re better.”

Abbie Jefferson, a junior psychology major, says she doesn’t enjoy mixing energy drinks and alcohol, and she makes an effort to avoid the drinks.

“Energy drinks taste [bad], and I don’t like what’s in them,” Jefferson says. “If you’re going to drink something with alcohol, stick with coffee or [soda], not something with so many chemicals in it.”

In Thomb’s study, he explains there are more than added chemicals in energy drinks that contribute and encourage the behavior produced when mixing an energy drink with alcohol, just to mask the taste of alcohol, which may affect how fast a drink is consumed.

“It masks the liquor pretty well,” says Jeremy Kempter, owner of Luscious Nectar, a bar located on Linden and Jefferson streets. “People may drink it faster, which may [also] play a role in it. The energy drinks have a strong overwhelming flavor with a lot of sugar.”

Tiffany Knauer, a sophomore communication studies major, is an energy drink and alcohol fan. But the appeal for Knauer doesn’t have anything to do with the delayed awareness of intoxication.

“I usually drink six nights a week and I probably drink alcohol with energy drinks about three times a week,” Knauer says as she sits inside Luscious Nectar with a Red Bull and vodka in front of her. “I personally think that alcohol is alcohol, and people are just trying to find reasons for their behavior. All an energy drink is [is] sugar. You might get a little hyper, but it’s the alcohol that’s the issue.”

Sugar and alcohol aside, caffeine is the ultimate suspect that plays a large role in the effects of mixing the two conflicting substances. Thombs keeps this in mind, and in a phone interview, says he intends to monitor the caffeine levels in blood tests for a future follow-up study.

Despite the risky conclusions, Kempter, who says it’s not unusual to go through two cases or 48 cans of Red Bull a week, can believe the findings, although he has no real way of confirming them.

“It’s not like we have a problem with people who drink [energy drinks and alcohol],” he says. “[Those] people aren’t more rowdy than anyone else so there’s just no indication, but it’s not something we make a point to monitor.”

Meanwhile, less than a mile away, Bob Pischer, the general manager of Trailhead Tavern, goes through up to 120 cans, or five cases, in a week because of the Jägerbomb’s popularity. But he’s more skeptical than worried about any ban on serving energy drinks with alcohol, saying the news coverage is just another media scare.

“Alcohol was promoting risky behavior way before [mixing it with] energy drinks, and I don’t think that energy drinks promote that,” he says. “I think it’s a gimmick. Every night it seems like the media [says something new is] bad for you.”

At Mojeaux’s Bar and Grill, bartender Laura Marchelya says they go through only 24 cans, or one case, of Red Bull a week, and she agrees with Pischer. Although Mojeaux’s only has three regular customers who ask for energy drinks and alcohol, she still has reservations about the study.

“I read some studies on how energy drinks and alcohol can affect behavior,” Marchelya explains. “I feel like a lot of the comments about it have been [regarding] rave-type situations, like all-night dance parties.”

Many people feel the trend has received a lot of media attention over the years because this is still an issue for college-aged students to be aware of. Yet, grabbing their attention is harder than it seems, Higgins says.

“A big adverse effect captures attention for awhile,” she says. “Whether it would still be influential [after several years], I don’t know. As a health care provider, I remember [these kinds of events], but as a student coming in just hearing about it, it probably wouldn’t make a big impact.”

Teaching students to be responsible first is the way to go, Jefferson says, and after that, maybe then the public will start to see a natural regression in the level of consumption.

“Kids are going to do what they want, when they want,” Jefferson adds. “More education and more [valid studies] about the potential hazards could help.”

Photo by Garrett Mynatt

If Evan Vent took a seat next to you in class, you would never guess he had been homeless before. The sophomore natural resources major has an Apple laptop, presentable clothes, a head of brown curls tucked behind a bandanna and a relaxed demeanor.

Vent, 21, has lived homeless for brief periods of time since 2008, but he does not classify himself as homeless because he is able to find work and can afford rent for his house on Stuart Street during the school year.

“I would never even consider myself homeless. I’m not even in the same demographic,” Vent said. “[I’ve been homeless] just a couple of times, and not for extended stays, [unless you count living on] my friends’ couch for four or five months.”

Although Vent’s current living situation does not reflect the turmoil of a homeless life, his past encounters shed light on a different definition of the homeless population in Fort Collins. According to Zachary Penland, program supervisor of the Sister Mary Alice Murphy Center for Hope in Fort Collins, an estimated 3,000 people in Larimer County are considered homeless, but that does not necessarily mean these people are sleeping in the streets every night.

The definition of homelessness is simply farther-reaching than most people suspect, and encompasses a wide variety of situations.

“They’re a part of what we call the ‘hidden homeless,’” said Sister Mary Alice Murphy, a consultant on homeless services for United Way of Larimer County. “There are a lot of people doubled up with a friend and not paying their share of the rent because they don’t have enough money.”

Murphy, for whom the Murphy Center for Hope is named, has formed numerous initiatives to combat homelessness since her arrival in Fort Collins in 1983, including the area’s first soup kitchen and homeless shelter. She works part-time at the Murphy Center, a new institution where clients in need can find and receive help from the 13 non-profit organizations that offer services on its premises. With the help of community members, her latest project is converting the Winter Day Shelter, housed at Community of Christ church at 220 E. Oak St., into a year-round day shelter.

“No matter where you go, this problem is there, and maybe [it’s] hidden in some communities,” Murphy said. “It’s hidden in this one.”

Homeward 2020, a local organization with the goal of ending homelessness in the Fort Collins area, defines homelessness as “the condition and social category of people who lack housing because they cannot afford, pay for, or are otherwise unable to maintain regular, safe and adequate housing.”

The executive director of the organization, Bryce Hach, further divides the homeless into two categories, the episodic and chronic homeless. He describes the episodic homeless, who nationally account for 80 percent of homeless cases, as people living on the brink of homelessness who have to resort to it sporadically. The chronic homeless, on the other hand, account for only 20 percent of homeless cases but are the most visible demographic.

“The [hidden] homeless don’t put a sign on themselves saying ‘I’m homeless,’” Murphy said. “The stigma of being homeless is something they don’t want anyone to know and they’ll do anything to cover up.”

A study conducted in 2008 by Jamie Van Leeuwen, who has a doctorate in public policy and is the executive director of Denver’s Road Home, illustrates the ambiguity surrounding the homeless. The data indicated that 556 men, women and children in Larimer County were homeless. However, Penland said in an e-mail that the number is not an accurate reflection.

According to Penland, last year the Poudre School District identified over 750 homeless children in attendance. Considering statistics that almost half of those who are homeless are children, Penland places the homeless population estimate in Larimer County closer to 3,000 people, with the vast majority in Fort Collins.

“Fort Collins looks so great when people just go through it, and this is the soft underbelly,” Murphy said.

The reason that few people recognize this “soft underbelly” is that many of the homeless are episodic and nearly impossible to identify. The Colorado Statewide Homeless Count, a point-in-time survey taken in January 2007, said of the 15,394 homeless respondents, only 6.9 percent spent the night on the street. The survey lists eight stipulations that characterize a person as homeless, which range from sleeping in cars and public places to staying temporarily with family or friends while looking for a home.

Vent is certainly familiar with the episodic scenarios, as he grew up in poverty outside of Grand Junction, Colo., and has lived on the cusp of homelessness for part of his life. Throughout high school, Vent was the main caretaker of his two younger brothers and he worked after school and at night in order to support them.

In college, Vent lived in the residence halls and most recently in a house with financial help from his father. But during the summers, Vent receives no financial assistance and has resorted to a number of unusual accommodations for short periods of time: living in an RV on a friend’s driveway, a friend’s couch and even his 1974 Volkswagon Beetle.

Photo by Garrett Mynatt

But for most of the summer months, he lives without shelter by choice. A self-described “free spirit,” Vent abandons his belongings with friends and has hitchhiked throughout Colorado to Wyoming and New Mexico with other homeless people, partly to save money and partly for the sense of adventure and community he finds. He has slept in national forests and even on the streets of various towns.

“You meet some really cool people,” Vent said. “You really get to know people at the most basic levels because they have nothing left to lose. [The homeless] have nothing to begin with.”

This is clearly a controversial element in Vent’s life, as he has lived homeless out of necessity before, yet mainly by choice now. Vent realizes that people may not understand him deliberately living this way.

“I’m not out there saying [to the homeless] ‘I came out here to live like you guys for a little bit,’” Vent said. “That would be condescending to them.”

He instead attributes his decision to live with nothing not only as an unusual way to see different sites, but also as a desire to understand the realities of the world.

“I think we all ask ourselves [the] question [of], ‘What’s that guy doing out on the curb? What’s he thinking? Does he have family?’” Vent said. “I mean, you put yourself out there and the cold times roll around and [you] can’t imagine doing this for four or five more months.”

During these times, Vent received a dose of the reality that many who are homeless face every day, which includes the negative stereotypes placed upon them.

“You have to deal with that kind of mentality – just the typical stereotypes that people put on the homeless,” Vent said. “If you’re dirty and grungy looking, you’re [nothing].”

Murphy acknowledges that the homeless are often afraid to speak of their hardships due to the criticism they receive.

“[Homelessness] has a very negative stigma,” Murphy said. “It means you haven’t done your fair share, you haven’t worked hard enough. It’s judgmental.”

And though Vent has received kindness from strangers when he was in need, he has also witnessed the feelings of indifference that some people have toward the homeless. He recalls a bitter cold night when the temperature dipped below freezing. His friend’s van that they were staying in was stolen and they had to sleep outside in Fort Collins.

“The next morning, I went to shake him and he was frozen solid,” Vent said. “[He] had frostbite over 80 percent of his body. I was terrified. You’re looking at people walking in the street and you’re like, ‘Hey my buddy is hurting’ and people just shrug you off. Finally, someone stopped [and] took him to the hospital.”

Vent’s friend was released from the hospital a few days later and left Colorado to live in New Mexico. Vent has not heard from him since.

“He just kind of skipped out, which is what [homeless] people do,” Vent said.

Aside from the many hardships he has faced, Vent sees his encounters without shelter as a benefit to himself and others. He hopes to someday open a small outdoor supplies shop that would not only cater to his adventurous nature, but would also offer environmental classes and opportunities to underprivileged children, something he wishes had been available during his own difficult childhood.

Ultimately, Vent finds satisfaction in the fact that his time spent with homeless people has brought joy to all parties involved.

“Offering [to be] a friend for a day can change someone’s life forever,” Vent said. “You listen to someone’s story and try to understand. It changed my perspective on a few things.”

As for the coming summer, Vent is unsure about his plans but says he may live without a home for a little while. A trip to Estonia to work on a natural resources project never materialized, but he still hopes to visit Europe if he can.

Raquel Miller, a 23-year-old preschool teacher and nanny was also not homeless, but lived for two months in her 2000 Chevy Impala. Inspired by the plea for social justice in the book “The Irresistible Revolution” by Shane Claiborne, Miller decided to live in her car, a choice that rendered her homeless during February and March in 2009. While she had family in Livermore, Colo., which is an hour north of Fort Collins, Miller’s car could not make the drive, and she needed to stay in Fort Collins to work to save money to make repairs to her car.

“I wouldn’t even classify myself necessarily as homeless because I had a home, it just wasn’t very convenient to get to,” Miller said. “I did have some financial situations, but it wasn’t like I was at the end of my rope and didn’t have a home to go to because my parents had their home.”

Like Vent, Miller lived without a home for financial reasons and by choice to gain an understanding of the daily obstacles faced by the homeless population. She moved to Columbus, Ohio in March, where she will utilize her awareness of the homeless to serve meals and provide aid to them at the Better Way ministry, a homeless shelter and soup kitchen.

“I knew that [living in my car] was an introduction to what it’s like to be homeless,” Miller said. “While I knew I was blessed with a safety net, I also knew that this is just the beginning of helping people out of poverty and helping the homeless. This wasn’t just me trying to pretend [to be homeless] or have this self-righteous manner.”

Throughout her edifying encounter, Miller slept in the driver’s side of her car and worked during the day.  She would clean herself and put on makeup in the morning at convenience stores and rotate parking at apartment complexes at night.

Aside from her mother picking her up to shower on weekends because “it was a pretty dirty situation,” Miller never utilized any type of assistance.

“It’s really difficult to know what to do with yourself when you don’t have a home,” Miller said. “I couldn’t find anything on public showers, the public bathrooms are closed, parks are closed. It blew me away because I’ve seen plenty of homeless people in Old Town and I don’t know what they do [to stay clean].”

Besides basic hygiene and shelter, Miller missed a number of conveniences that can often be unappreciated in the setting of a permanent residence.

“When you [have] to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, what do you do? It’s hard to find a place that’s open 24 hours,” Miller said. “Sometimes I would park by the Alley Cat just so I could go to the bathroom at night or have light to read by. I never really thought about having no light to read – I’m such a huge reader and that had a really big impact on me.”

Safety was another concern, as Miller’s car windows were not tinted so anyone could see inside.

“It was hard at night [because] I was always worried a police officer would come up and be like ‘you gotta leave,’” Miller said. “One time someone tapped on my door and asked if I was OK.”

And of course, the ever-changing Colorado weather was a constant issue.

“When it snowed it was cold,” Miller said. “But when you had to [get out of the car to] go to the bathroom, you froze, just froze entirely.”

At the end of her two-month stint without a home, Miller had saved enough money to mend her car and afford rent. She credits the experience with opening her eyes to the challenges facing the homeless in Fort Collins.

“It’s something I would recommend to other people – it gives you a fresh perspective and appreciation for life and what really matters,” Miller said. “It was very much something I wanted to experience and I wanted to have a new realization for it [because] it’s such an issue. We have privileges but let us remember the people who don’t.”

Unfortunately, a rising number of local individuals and families are finding themselves without permanent shelter.

“The problem is getting worse,” said Daniel Covey, a case manager at the Murphy Center. “I’ve seen many families that are really on the trajectory of being homeless very soon.”

Covey assists homeless clients at the Murphy Center, and estimates that the average age of his clients is 30 and about half of the clients he sees are families.

“There’s a time when people can come in and we can give them a lot of resources to help them avoid homelessness,” Covey said. “But there’s sort of a point of no return where people come in and it can be very difficult to actually prevent them from being homeless, and I’m seeing more of those families than I would like.”

The Web site for the National Coalition for the Homeless cites a lack of affordable rental housing and a simultaneous rise in poverty as the key factors behind the increase, but Covey adds that unaffordable healthcare, the economy and a more competitive job market have all taken their toll.

“For people with mediocre or poor work histories, they really don’t get much of a chance,” Covey said. “I was surprised when I started working here how many of the homeless people have great and truly employable skills, but they may not have tools for their trade or they have employment gaps or a felony, so there are all these obstacles to them gaining employment.”

Another obstacle often overlooked is human nature itself. Both Miller and Vent attribute much of their homeless experiences to their own faults, especially pride.

Photo by Garrett Mynatt

“I hate handouts,” Miller said. “I want to earn what I have, and so I didn’t want to [sleep] at someone’s house all the time, I didn’t want to ask for a shower or whatever. Part of it is pride and part of it is just that I firmly believe that you earn what you work for and I didn’t have money to give them, so you find ways to make it work.”

For Vent, pride has been a longstanding issue, too. Even while supporting his younger brothers and in financial need, he was always reluctant to accept any charity.

“I had to realize that people helping other people is more of a gift to give than it is to receive,” Vent said. “A lot of homeless people do have pride, which is ironic, because when you’re begging people for money there is no pride there at all. Pride was my vice. Not asking people for help, shutting others out when they did want to help. And humbling myself in that way and just accepting from people when I am in need has been kind of a major obstacle in my life that I’ve overcome.”

Whatever the reason, the upsurge in difficult conditions has uprooted many people from the warmth of their homes and forced them to resort to unpleasant alternatives.

“The homeless and the problems that surround them are very multifaceted, with a broad spectrum, from the kid who is couch surfing at his friends’ houses to the homeless man standing on the street corner saying ‘will work for food,’” Murphy said. “If every single person took one aspect of helping the homeless, we could solve it.”

Photo by Garrett Mynatt

From outside, the two-story cottage just north of the Colorado State University campus looks much as it did in 1902 – simple gray stone walls, red-trimmed roof and a single tall window on the second floor. Today, sandwiched between two office complexes, the building is easy to miss.

A surveillance camera housed in black glass and a small sign by the doorbell give the only indication of what is inside: Medicinal Gardens of Colorado, 420 S. Howes St.

Like most medical marijuana dispensaries, or MMDs, a visitor must ring the bell before being allowed inside. On an afternoon in late March, three staff members mill around a small waiting room – wearing professional nametags, they are the cannabis equivalent of Target or Best Buy employees. The marijuana is sold in a separate room, displayed in glass jars with labels describing the strain and dosage.

Tim Gordon is well-versed in the history of the cottage. He lists a number of different uses since the turn of the century – a school, a train depot, a farmer’s carriage house. Gordon, a 36-year-old Army veteran with black shoulder-length dreadlocks, is the co-owner of Medicinal Gardens. Since opening in June 2009, he and business partner Travis Cutbirth have become the go-to pot experts for patients and city officials alike.

“Travis and I know the medicine, we know the laws,” says Gordon, sitting in a small classroom on the second floor where he teaches courses such as how to cook with cannabis. “We’re good growers and good caregivers. I think I have one of the larger patient bases in Larimer County because of that.”

Gordon estimates 70 percent of his clients are around 40 years old, and a subdued atmosphere is one way Medicinal Gardens appeals to this majority. Shying away from stoner-culture imagery – a few blocks south off Elizabeth Street, the MMJ Dispensary uses a cannabis leaf for a symbol – was a conscious choice.

“Medical marijuana has never been scary when it’s medicine,” Gordon says. “I want people to feel comfortable to bring their children inside, sit in the lobby and get their medicine.”

Medicinal Gardens doesn’t just show the evolution of a Fort Collins landmark – it is at the forefront of an issue that has exploded across Colorado in the past year. Today, the Colorado Medical Marijuana Registry estimates there are nearly 63,000 registered patients in the state, up from just 5,000 in March 2009.

Gordon and Cutbirth are navigating a burgeoning industry that, despite their greatest efforts, is in danger of being stripped to the bone by September 2010.

“They’re making rules in the fear of marijuana,” Gordon says, referring to the mish-mash of legislation that has swamped state and local government. “They know it’s legal, but they fear it. Does medical reefer exist? Hell yeah, it exists.”

The Green Rush

MMDs are a budding sight in Fort Collins, but medical marijuana has been legal for nearly a decade in Colorado. In November 2000, voters passed Amendment 20, making it a treatment option for patients suffering from cancer, glaucoma, AIDS and other forms of chronic or severe pain. It also identified a key player in the new legal cannabis world – the primary caregiver, someone who “has significant responsibility for managing the well-being of a patient.”

On the surface, it was a major victory for pot advocates and a blessing for patients. But Larimer County District Attorney Larry Abrahamson claims a lack of foresight led many to take advantage of the laws, blindsiding government officials.

Of the 14 states with legal marijuana, Colorado is the only one to make access a part of its constitution. Because state amendments are much more difficult to change than statutes, Abrahamson calls this a mistake.

Photo by Garrett Mynatt

“There’s very little that is clear and unambiguous about the issue,” Fort Collins Police Services Cpt. Jerry Schiager says. Others agree the amendment is riddled with drawbacks. It places a heavy burden on city governments to make zoning restrictions and makes no mention of MMDs or cultivators.

“Marijuana is still a pretty low priority drug,” Schiager says. “We have methamphetamine, coke, some of those other things that are a bigger public concern. We didn’t follow [medical marijuana] until it fell into our laps.”

Schiager points to 2009 as the beginning of the current pot industry boom. In August, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment loosely defined the duties of a caregiver – “significant responsibility” could be interpreted as simply providing marijuana through a storefront – and lifted a previous restriction that said they could only claim five patients.

While patients are not required to designate a caregiver, Gordon says many don’t have the means or know-how to grow in their homes. Local entrepreneurs filled this need, sometimes acting as caregivers for 150 patients or more, Abrahamson says.

“The combination of those things really opened the door for the profit making-retail model,” Schiager says. “The restrictions that were in place had kept it really underground and small.”

Suddenly, the rush was on.

Like the plants they sell, MMDs grew organically, popping up in shopping centers all around Fort Collins. In early 2009, there were three registered commercial MMDs. When the city put a moratorium on sales tax licenses in December, there were 36 – three more than the number of licensed liquor stores in March.

Now, state lawmakers are scrambling to keep up. Their biggest question: How do you regulate a business where, according to Abrahamson, people are able to grow a pound of marijuana for $300 and sell it for $5,000 from storefronts – the legal equivalent of large-scale drug dealing?

“They found out they could make a lot of money really fast,” says Abrahamson, although he didn’t name any specific Fort Collins businesses. “Dispensaries are huge money makers.”

“A Nightmare”

MMD owners in Fort Collins, however, claim they make little to no money. They are nervous that lawmakers are creating legislation based on a few questionable businesses and doctors that are purely profit-driven.

“You’ve got these big business owners who are trying to change the rules and the smaller guys are crying foul,” says Terri Lynn, owner of the marijuana delivery service Natural Alternatives for Health. “The whole while patients are saying, ‘What about me?’”

As former commander of the Northern Colorado Drug Task Force, Schiager sees some unnerving parallels between legal and illegal marijuana. Since MMDs began opening en masse, at least six home-growers have been robbed, some at gunpoint.

And the criminal element extends beyond violence. Because the definition of severe pain is vague, numerous Web sites have appeared, giving tips on what symptoms to claim and which doctors are more likely to “rubber-stamp” a recommendation.

Although the registry is approaching a six-month backlog – the office receives over 1,000 applications a day – in September 2009, there were 800 doctors in Colorado who had recommended marijuana to patients. Because marijuana is a plant, it is not an FDA-approved prescription drug or covered by healthcare providers like Anthem and the CSU Health Network. Doctors who have been stripped of their ability to write prescriptions – a federally regulated license – can still sign a marijuana card.

“To curb recreational use, what they need to do is go upstream to the doctors,” Lynn believes. Because she grows in her home, she uses a different last name to protect herself and her patients’ privacy. “I think it’s a nightmare for real patients. There are a lot of unintended consequences that council members are regulating. It’s very fear-based and focused on recreational use.”

A Growing (Student) Problem

As a college town, Fort Collins is enticing. Roughly half of all current MMDs are within 2 miles of CSU, a fact the city hasn’t overlooked.

“I think having a university here makes for a really tempting market, and maybe a market that is tempted,” says Ginny Sawyer, an administrator with Fort Collins neighborhood services. She mentions that aside from using, students are growing in homes with little to no security. “Probably this next renting cycle, you will see some very spelled-out clauses saying ‘no growing on-site.’”

Kris Ticnor, owner of the property agency My House, has seen this problem first hand.  When she went to inspect the home of two long-time tenants, she discovered 100 marijuana plants. The residents, also CSU students, had gone through all the steps to register themselves as a private MMD, but they overlooked Ticnor – neither the city nor the tenants notified her when the tax license was approved.

“Their position was, ‘No one comes to our door, we deliver it,’” Ticnor says, stressing that the two lived next to an elderly man. “My position is all it takes is one person, who is high on something else, and all of a sudden cops are all over and I’ve broken my promise to those neighbors.”

Instead of pressing charges or evicting the tenants, she allowed them to stay if they paid for the mold damage caused by the plants. Although she is not against medical marijuana, she sees the situation as one way it can be abused.

“There are certain community organizations that will grab onto this issue as a student issue, not a pot issue,” Ticnor says. “It will become a bad tagline for students.”

Photo by Garrett Mynatt

Sawyer and Schiager were part of a city committee that wrote a new ordinance to regulate MMDs. They held focus groups with patients, business owners and other community members, a process Ticnor believes was a token gesture and similar to the contested 3-unrelated ordinance.

The resulting law, passed on March 16, mapped out defined areas around the city where MMDs can be located. A major concern for the committee was keeping large-scale grows like the one Ticnor found out of residential areas. After July 14, all cultivators and MMDs operating in homes will be illegal – including Lynn’s.

“People already growing illegally will stay that way,” she says. “There’s no need for an ordinance to control them. You’re going to have folks like me who were legal, who will either have to go out of business or move out of the city in order to sustain the model.”

Schiager realizes this will shut down many already-established businesses, but the regulations are meant to protect communities and define what he calls “crazy, contradictory laws.”

On the other side, business owners and activists are fighting decades of pot prejudice. While the ordinance was being written, Gordon and Cutbirth arranged a tour of several local dispensaries to showcase their business model and prove that marijuana can be a viable medicine.

“Initially, there was a lot of apprehension and fear on all sides,” Gordon says. “Now, it’s like, ‘Wow, there is a legitimate need [for MMDs]. We’ve seen how it works and it’s not that bad.’”

The committee was immediately impressed; Schiager often deferred to Gordon and Cutbirth with questions about the ordinance. Despite this relationship, Medicinal Gardens is one of 30 MMDs that could be forced to move or close their doors. The new zoning and spacing requirements could effectively regulate them out of business, something that frustrates Gordon.

“It’s 2010 – 10 years after laws could’ve been implemented and put into effect,” Gordon says. “They are dragging their feet.”

Colorado’s Pot Predicament

Don is a 29-year-old CSU freshman history major and former Marine who tore his rotator cuff while stationed in Washington D.C. After several years, his shoulder never healed and military doctors kept prescribing painkillers “like candy.” By the summer of 2009, he was taking up to four 800-milligram pills at a time, as often as four times a day. He got his registry card in December after developing stomach ulcers from the dosage.

“I’m not doing it to get wasted and stoned,” Don says. “I eventually decided that relief from the pain was worth it. It is something I can afford to do without being screwed up from all the pills.”

Don chose to remain anonymous because his relief comes at a risk: While possession is still a federal crime, he could lose the Veterans Affairs benefits that pay for his tuition.

Don’s unease shows the fickle relationship between state and federal law. Despite a 2009 presidential directive, there is still concern and confusion about personal rights. Marijuana is considered a Schedule I narcotic, on par with ecstasy and mescaline.

“Federal government – the Obama administration – has said they don’t care about medical marijuana,” says Brian Vicente, executive director of Sensible Colorado, a Denver-based marijuana advocacy group. “But the [Drug Enforcement Administration] didn’t get the memo. We have a branch of the government that is acting in a rogue manner and harassing patients and providers.”

In March, Sensible Colorado teamed with Americans for Safe Access, a national lobbying organization, to train Fort Collins community members and MMD employees on how to react to DEA raids.

“We thought it was important to educate people on how to deal with DEA intervention in Colorado,” Vicente says. “We wanted to send a message to the federal government saying we don’t want any intervention in state laws.”

Spurred by this federal bullying, lawmakers from both parties have created a laundry list of legal marijuana legislation.

State Rep. Tom Massey, a Republican, has sponsored a recent bill that would address what he calls the “loopholes” in Colorado law that allow for MMDs. Dubbed the Colorado Medical Marijuana Code, it would to create the State Licensing Authority for marijuana to track all MMDs, similar to the patient registry.

Another bill, introduced in the Senate, would redefine the physician/patient relationship, requiring doctors to perform a full physical and keep separate records of all patients they recommend for marijuana. It would also prevent doctors from having any connection with MMDs.

With state legislation still up in the air indefinitely – after a major overhaul in the House, the patient/physician bill failed the Senate on March 26 and was sent back to committee – there is a sense of exasperation in Fort Collins.

When asked if he ever imagined himself on a legal marijuana committee, Schiager chuckles.

“I hope this doesn’t turn into a five-year project,” he sighs. “This was never an issue I was looking for to define my career.”

But MMD owners and city officials, including Sawyer, feel that the people at the heart of the legislation – the patients – may have been lost in the process.

“They were able to find caregivers and it made their lives functional,” Sawyer says, recalling the story of a 60-year-old woman who suffered for years with multiple sclerosis until she discovered marijuana. “That is who I would hate to see put at risk by such strong regulations.”

The activist in Gordon remains hopeful that the city won’t force any current MMDs to move. A decision on whether to grandfather the 30 violating businesses under the ordinance will not be made until September. But he is still afraid bureaucracy could stall or even destroy a good thing.

“My biggest fear – myself as a patient and an activist – is I don’t want my patients deferring to street drugs,” Gordon says. “I will fight tooth and flippin’ nail to ensure that doesn’t happen.”

But it is clear that the pain of her battles with food are still very recent, as she almost whispers her story about how her binge eating disorder came close to destroying her life.

Society doesn’t usually consider those who like to eat to have an addiction and to be struggling day to day with something as overpowering as alcohol or drugs. Addiction as defined by The National Institute on Drug Abuse is a “chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking.”

According to Ashley, people can be addicted to food in this way just as easily as they can be addicted to any other substance or vice.

What sets food apart from most addictions is that it cannot be cut out of one’s life, making it one of the hardest addictions to overcome, especially in a country that revolves around food. Americans eat at sporting events, in business meetings and even at church, as well as in an abundance of other social settings – food is impossible to escape.

Ashley, who graduated from Colorado State University in December with a bachelor’s degree in food science and human nutrition, began binging and purging at the age of 10 following her parent’s divorce. She reflected on this as a way of coping with the things she didn’t know how to talk about.

Filling herself as quickly as possible, mostly with bread and peanut butter until it hurt, was her way of feeling something other than the emotional pain she was dealing with.

“That was the only thing I knew to do, to try and feel something else,” Ashley said.

Her addiction led her to steal food from the grocery store and sneak into the kitchen at night to binge privately, which was always followed by purging. Purging, as defined by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, is the act of vomiting or using laxatives after binging.

Age 16 to 18 was the worst time for Ashley, when she would purge about six times a day. But it was not until she went away to college that the habit began to control her life in unimaginable ways.

“I had no friends for two years,” said Ashley, who chose to remain anonymous because of many social and school pressures. “I had to schedule my classes so I would have at least an hour break so I could go home and purge. You just can’t have a friend if you truly have a big eating disorder because all you think about is food.”

Chris Bachman, a registered dietitian with the CSU Health Network, said binge eating could be the body’s physical response to being too low in calories, a common reaction to traditional American dieting. Although more often, as in Ashley’s case, it is caused by deep-rooted emotional problems.

“Binging is a coping tool,” Bachman said. “People use food to deal with emotions of one kind or another and often times binging makes people feel calmer.”

“A lot of people will say they had a hole in them that could only be filled by food,” said Jane, about the emotional aspect of eating.

Jane is a member of Overeaters Anonymous in Fort Collins, a support group for people with eating disorders which follows the structure of Alcoholics Anonymous. Jane chose to remain anonymous in order to protect the integrity of the group, its members and herself.

Jane, who has been in OA for three years, realized she had a problem after watching a movie about an alcoholic whom she was able to relate with.

“I had behaved like the alcoholic had done with alcohol, but with food,” she explained.

Jane recalled how she ate in reaction to any and every emotion in order to dampen her feelings. She also believes that she is physically addicted to sugary foods because they spark a reaction of binging that only stops when she has run out of food or is violently ill from overeating.

“My last sugar binge was after I’d been in the [OA] program for a whole year,” she said. “I went to a dessert party and told myself I was going to have one plate. I ended up having two or three plates and then I got home and kept eating. The only way I didn’t eat everything I had was because I gave the rest of it to my dog because she’s the only one who can eat as fast as me. I eat until I’m sick, that’s not emotional anymore.”

While Jane doesn’t believe she can ever touch sugary foods without this reaction, Ashley views the addictive properties of her disorder differently. Instead, Ashley sees her eating addiction as a weakness that showed she was unhappy. Once she established what made her happy, the addiction subsided.

Even so, both Ashley and Jane see their disorders not only as an addiction, but as a disease that has taken control of their lives. According to Jane, there is no graduation from OA, even when it appears that someone has mastered his or her problem, because the disease doesn’t go away.

“It takes over your mind,” Ashley said. “You lose control of any rational thought. You lose control of your body.”

According to Bachman, binge eating is hard to overcome because of the embarrassment, guilt and secrecy behind it. There are two types of eating, public and private, she added. In public, binge eaters tend to eat less and eat healthier, which in turn drives private eating that tends to be out of control.

In high school, Ashley kept her disorder private, hardly ever eating with friends unless they were also overweight. Because of this, no one ever knew about Ashley’s problem until her second year of college when she was literally at a breaking point and went to get help in despair.

“In public I would think about snacking,” Ashley said. “I would eat with the family and then go upstairs and purge. I was always waiting for when I could go and eat more.”

Societal pressures make it particularly difficult for people to cope with eating disorders Bachman said, who blames “mindless eating” – pairing eating with other things such as sports events, driving or doing homework – and an absence of set meal times as contributors to poor relationships with food.

Ashley stated that activities as simple as going to a friend’s house and eating dinner can be difficult to those recovering from a food addiction.

“That’s been a big realization with all of the social attachments of food,” Ashley said.

The NIDDK Web site states that binge eating affects 3 percent of adults in the United States, and in particular women are affected more than men – three women to every two men.

Society’s expectations for women about eating made it incredibly difficult for Ashley, especially as a dietetics major who was overweight. The majority of women studying nutrition are fit and healthy, Ashley explained, who said she has felt judged by others.

The intensity of her condition had also alienated her from others, which meant part of her recovery was relearning social interactions to make friends.

“I hadn’t been to a movie in years – I was scared,” she said.

Help comes in different forms for each individual because, as Bachman put it, binge eating is a “private war.” Ashley sought help from the CSU Health Network in the form of counselors and a dietitian, and considers herself recovered.

Like any addiction, she had to unlearn her unhealthy habits, which is a slow and difficult process, but from the progress Ashley has made, it is completely worth it.

In contrast, Jane has found the structure she needs to control her disorder through OA, but in her eyes she will never be cured. Abstaining from eating during certain parts of the day and sticking to a food plan are her method of control.

“We’re different from other addictions because we can’t get away from the habit – we have to eat,” Jane said.