0 l 0 I 6B The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, October 1, 2008 WednedayOctobr-1,20:8 - e *icign miy Storied investment banks have been closing shop on Wall Street and the nation's economy is threat- ening to hit the worse lowsince the Great Depression. But lets be honest, the mar- ket that most concerns the aver- age Econ 101 student doesn't have much to do with stocks. The ebb and flow of the campus marijuana supply is what to watch. The beginning of fall semester canbe ahard time for cannabis-in- clined students. Your dealer grad- uated last spring. It's too awkward to call your friend with the hook up after not talking all summer. You moved out of the dorms and left the guy with the conspicuously smelling room behind. But there are also regular market forces that regulate Ann Arbor's weed supply in terms of how much it costs, how good it is and how soon you can get it. September is a low point for finding weed, according to sev- eral buyers and sellers of weed on campus. But these experts, who are only identified by their first initials because of the illegality of marijuana, also assure that any shortage should be relieved by the end of October. Weed market watchers said growers in Northern Michigan and the rural Midwest will har- vest their crop right before the first frost to give buds time to get as big as possible. "The college market is really super sensitive," said A, an LSA junior and daily smoker. "I think part of it is the harvest - before the harvest comes in it gets pretty dry." While the regional harvest is one source of relief, another is the United Parcel Service. A said a lot of out-of-state stu- dents will do some small-time dealing .after receiving large ship- ments fromtheir preferred sources back home. One dealer, University graduate R, said his dissatisfaction with the weed available on campus spurred him to put in an order with a friend who grows back home in Northern California. The pound of Strawberry-Kush he received in the mail led him to his current occupation. R said many people from his high school who wentto college out of state fell into dealing the same way. Yearning for the dependable quality of Californian bud, they buy in bulk and make some extra - cash off their Midwest and East Coast roommates. The trick is to have it sent to a fake name at an address with many residents, a co-op or a frat house, and tell the sender to ZINE specifywith the delivery company that a signature not-be required upon delivery. The next step is to hang out at the receiving address 24 hours a day until the package arrives - but look out for a set-up. "If somehow it does require a signature, maybe that means they're on to you," R said. Engineering sophomore J, an Ann Arbor native and frequent buyer, said he resents the notion that the only good weed around is from out of state. He said Ann Arbor hasa healthy community of indoor growers pro- ducingthe most potent strains, but that these veteran Hash-bashers are generally too old to sell to stu- dents. "A significant proportion of the really good weed is grown in Ann Arbor, but by an older generation," he said. "There's just this older generation that doesn't mess with us as much." Known to purchase in $500 In-state smokers attest that those prices aren't the standard rate statewide or even at other campus- es like Michigan State University and Western Michigan University. Like campus realty companies and bars, Ann Arbor's weed dealers also set their prices according to the influx of expendable income that accompanies the University's wealthier out-of-state students. "You can set the price really high and still find some random ass sorority girl who will pay any- thing," A said. R said he increased his prices this fall - from $70 to $80 for an eighth - when he realized people would still pay. "My prices have gone up, but that's because I realized I could sell it," he said. "Initially, people are skeptical, buttheyalways come back." M, who belongs to a fraternity at the University, said he knows a lot QUOTES OF THE WEEK They want to buy the world with paper that does not have any value." - HUGO CHAVEZ, president of Venezuela, attacking the United States for the low value of the dollar. "You are even more gorgeous than you are on the [TV]." - ASIF ALI ZARDARI, the president of Pakistan, upon meeting with Gov. Sarah Palin, John McCain's vice-presidential nominee. "I'd say it's more likely than not that prices will go down." increments, J said he only buys from local growers after gaining some lucky connections, including a teacher who sells out of her house 15 minutes out of town. "Generally, the good,good weed, the people aren't sketch," he said. Ann Arbor's indoor supply is more consistent as the growing period is a two-to-three-month cycle rather than an annual season. But J said even the townie market is feeling a slump because of the effect of the summer drought on local crops. "It's usually bad during sum- mer, but for the local connects ever since the Fourth of July, it's been dry," he said. For the casual smoker who doesn't drop half a grand on Sensi Star, the going price of an eighth of no-frills Chronic - or for the really indiscriminate, Mids - is the cru- cial question. A said that prices have seemed higher this year, but that the har- vest and out-of-state supplements should ward off price hikes. "I'd say it's more likely than not that prices will go down," he said. Nationally, the average price of an eighth of high-quality Kind Bud is about $55, according to a High Times Magazine reader survey conducted from January 2005 to August 2007. The survey had an eighth of Mids priced at $35, with lowest- scale Schwag at $11. In Ann Arbor, studentsoften pay $65 or $75for the same amount of weed regardless of quality grade. of career-focused Greeks who will pay more to be a degree removed from the actual transaction. "There a whole network of peo- ple trying to get it without putting their hands on it," he said. "They'll pay higher because there's that whole hands-off element." R decided to expand his dealing into a full-time operation after he was able to double what he spent on each $1,000 shipment last year. "I'm out here. I don't have a job. I'm not going to school. (Dealing) pretty much pays for everything and it's easy," he said. While R is serious about corner- ing more of campus - he said he quit smoking pot himself, except to sample product or smoke down potential new customers, because it made him lazy - he is hesitant about getting into to gain more customers, he is hesitant about entering the lucrative residential hall and Greek system markets. A sensible dealer knows that a large group of desperate smokers could spell his demise. "It's a good market, but it's a little risky, because it's the kind of market where people just throw your (phone) number around," R said. But whom R takes on as a cus- tomer also comes down to person- ality. "I would like to (sell to fraterni- ties) because I know they would pay more," he said. "But I don't really like those kids and I don't really want my weed in their hands." TALKING POINTS Three things you can talk about this week: 1. Skipping the LSAT 2. The Shenzhou VII 3. Somali pirates And three things you can't: 1. Drunken Badgers 2. Mrs. Scarlet Johansson- Reynoldsg 3. Letterman on McCain rBY T HE NUMBERS The cost, in dollars, of an omnibus spending bill that Congress is currently trying to enact The number of earmarks included in the spending bill The cost, in dollars, of earmarks for Sen. Ted Stevens, a Republican from Alaska, who had more of these pet projects than anyone else Source: Taxpayers for commonS ense YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THE WEEK My baby girl will walk! On Sept. 16, 2006, Sophie McInnes was born. On that day, her father Gavin had one hope: that his daughter would be able to walk home from the hospital. "(The doctor) said it would be a mir- acle if she were born walking," Gavin McInnes says, while cradling Sophie in his arms. "And I feel like that's not what we're about. We're about hope, and we're about believing in her." McInnes said that he has faith that Sophie will be able to walk that day. But soonenough, Mcnnesisshown holding her arms, trying to drag her feet across the pavement to make her walk. But his efforts are to no avail. His head in his hands, he vows to con- tinue trying, despite the fact that doc- tors seemto think he's crazy. After weeks of being shunned by the medical community, McInnes puts Sophie in a miniature wheelchair. He pushes her around through the streets of New York City and starts a charity called "Help Sophie." At one point, McInnes concedes the difficulty of his task: "Eventually, it became almost impossible to avoid. Our baby was going to be unable to walk until she was 14 months. It was hell." But don't worry. He says his sec- ond child will be walking within two months. - BRIAN TENGEL See this and other YouTube videos of the week at youtube.com/user/michigandaily "The U.S. is too isolated, too insular. They don't translate enough and don't really participate in the big dialogue of literature. That ignorance is restraining." - HORACE ENGDAHL, the top member of the Nobel Prize award jury, explaining why he believes that American writers cannot compete with European writers. Most of the recipients of the literary prize have been from Europe. MARKET VALUES NATIONWIDE Average prices for top, middle and low tier weed from January 2005 to August 2007 THEME PARTY SUGGESTION Palin pity party - Tomorrow night, Joe Biden and Sarah Palin will clash on foreign policy, the economy and other important stuff during the vice presiden- tial debate. Gather with some friends and watch Biden discuss his experience in foreign affairs, while Palin talks about Alaska's proximity to Russia and how she's really, truly "ready" to be McCain's veep. She's already blown two interviews, so it really can't get much worse for her. Or can it? Throwing this party? Let us know. TheStotement@umich.edu STUDY OF THE WEEK More women are entering politics than ever In the past decade, women have entered politics in larger numbers than ever before. They now comprise 18.4 percent of parliament mem- bers across the globe, according to a study released by the United Nations Development Fund for Women. Since1995, the proportion of women has grown by 7 percent,research- era said. They attributed the rise in part to the realization among many women that they must seize positions of power themselves in order to effect change, rather than just lobbying others to do it. Provided the rate of change remains steady, by 2045 women will attain "parity" with men in the developing world, the researchers con- cluded. They defined parity as holding between 40 and 60 percent of elected parliamentary seats. The researchers found that quota systems that reserve seats for women have had a huge impact. Out of 22 countries where women com- prise more than 30 percent of the national assembly, 18 use a quota. - BRIAN TENGEL $60 $30 SCHWAG 0' SOURCE: HIGH TIMES MAGA