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Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Three weed dealers––Jamie, Alex, and John––who spoke with The Beacon on the condition of anonymity, discussed their life as dealers on campus and how it impacts their customers.

Let’s Be Really Blunt: Student dealers on what it’s like being “The Plug”

By Campbell Parish and Karissa Schaefer / May 1, 2021

College students, often overwhelmed by the pressures of schoolwork, social life, and on-campus extracurricular commitments, not to mention jobs, have increasingly...

 Even as white and Black people use cannabis at similar rates, Black people are 3.64 times more likely to be arrested on charges of weed possession, according to a 2020 ACLU report.

The luxury of neighborhood dispensaries deny America’s racist cannabis criminalization

By Joshua Sokol / May 1, 2021

In 1936, a film titled “Reefer Madness” hit the silver screen. Originally titled “Tell Your Children,” the black & white cinema explored the...

Smokey Coffeeshop is just one of the many social cannabis consumption spaces in Amsterdam.

Massachusetts must open social cannabis consumption spaces

By Clarah Grossman / May 1, 2021

There we were, three college seniors in pajamas on the back porch, huddled close together in the Boston cold, sharing a celebratory joint after one of...

New England Treatment Access (NETA) in Brookline.

Boston dispensaries turn a new leaf amid pandemic

By Ann E. Matica / May 1, 2021

Pure Oasis, the first recreational dispensary to open in a major city on the East Coast, opened its doors for the first time in Boston on March 9, 2020,...

An ECPD patrol vehicle.

Incident Journal: Man barricaded in W Hotel, multiple student guest violations

November 17, 2020

The Emerson College Police Department provides the Incident Journal to The Beacon every week. Beacon staff edit the Incident Journal for style and clarity,...

Munchies smoked my eating disorder

Munchies smoked my eating disorder

By Clarah Grossman / April 20, 2020

After multiple rips from a bong and eating a whole package of cookies, I found myself sprawled on the floor of my freshman year dorm, full. I had just...

An Emerson College Police car.

Incident Journal: two firearm-related incidents, cannabis paraphernalia found in elevator lobby

By Jacob Seitz / April 13, 2020

The Emerson College Police Department provides the Incident Journal to The Beacon every week. Beacon staff edit the Incident Journal for style and clarity...

ECPD

Incident Journal: More graffiti, clothes stolen

By Jacob Seitz / February 12, 2020

The Emerson College Police Department provides the Incident Journal to The Beacon every week. Beacon staff edit the Incident Journal for style and clarity...

Clarah Grossman / Graphic by Ally Rzesa - Beacon Staff

My drink of choice? Cannabis

By Clarah Grossman / December 14, 2019

My mom peer-pressured me to drink in high school.  When I say peer-pressured, I do not mean she encouraged me to do keg stands or taught me how to...

New England Treatment Access in Brookline began selling cannabis after opening in March. Beacon Archives.

Separate the college’s policies on CBD and THC

By Editorial Board / October 9, 2019

On Saturday, The Beacon reported that a group of college administrators are “discussing and finalizing policies” regarding the on-campus usage of CBD,...

Cannabis Control Commision Chairman Steve Hoffman speaks to the media after the CCC voted to approve delivery regulations. Montse Landeros / Beacon Correspondent

Cannabis delivery regulations passed

By Diana Bravo / September 25, 2019

The Cannabis Control Commission voted to approve regulations allowing marijuana delivery and a pilot program for social consumption facilities in their...

Emerson follows federal policy and bans cannabis on college campuses but the policies concerning CBD are less clear. Anissa Gardizy / Beacon Staff

Office of Community Standards reviews state and federal policies on medical cannabis

By Belen Dumont / April 18, 2019

The Office of Community Standards and Student Conduct is reviewing its drug and alcohol policy regarding medical cannabis on campus as part of a larger...

ECPD

Incident Journal

March 29, 2019

The Emerson College Police Department provides the Incident Journal to the Beacon every week. Beacon staff edit the Incident Journal for style and clarity,...

Editorial: Nearby dispensary opening offers opportunities for responsible consumption

Editorial: Nearby dispensary opening offers opportunities for responsible consumption

By Editorial Board / March 21, 2019

At issue: students’ cannabis use Our take: cannabis can benefit students of age   The closest dispensary for medical and recreational cannabis...

People over 21 can use cannabis recreationally and legally according to Massachusetts state law, but for Emerson students, this isn’t the case. Abby Noyes/ Beacon Staff

Beacon Breakdown: What’s the case with cannabis on-campus?

By Kaitlyn Mettetal / November 8, 2018

Nearly two years after the legalization of recreational cannabis use in Massachusetts the college remains substance-free in accordance with federal laws...

Resident Assistants leave Cannabis Scent notices under dorm room doors after pinpointing the smell of marijuana on a residence hall floor. Anissa Gardizy / Beacon Staff

New procedure to deal with cannabis on-campus

By Anissa Gardizy / October 18, 2018

The Office of Community Standards and Student Conduct updated the way Resident Assistants handle incidents involving the smell of cannabis in room(s) by...

This month, Emerson Polling Society has surveyed marijuana opinions nationwide.

More than half of Americans support marijuana legalization, says ECPS poll

By Grace Griffin / March 27, 2018

The Emerson Polling Society made a name for itself by receiving national attention for polling the 2016 presidential election. This month, their polling...

We need to place smokers and non-smokers on the same moral ground, neither above the other for their choices surrounding drugs. Illustration by Ally Rzesa / Beacon Staff

Cannabis should not dictate creativity

By Abigail Hadfield / March 27, 2018

In my first literature course at Emerson, I read a beautiful poem by one of my classmates that impressed and moved me. When I told them how much I loved...