By Weed iz WAC Kidz
Need for Weed
The Washington College community first caught scent of the situation developing in the campus garden when students, quite literally, began to smell it — “it,” of course, being WC’s very own marijuana dispensary, home-grown by the Dean of Students Greg Krikorian.
Following Maryland’s legalization of marijuana for anyone over the age of 18, it became the vice of choice for many students on WC’s campus. Due to the nature of private school funding, the use of weed remains banned from the College, but these federal limitations did little to stop the increase in students getting caught using the substance.
The state of marijuana on-campus made it all the more surprising when members of the campus garden club discovered Krikorian’s crop during one of their routine clean-ups. Most of the growth was sprouting behind the Bike Share shed, hidden from plain sight, until campus squirrels ate some and stumbled down the Cater Walk in a frenzy.
According to Chestertown police, the dirt patch was over the campus boundary, ergo, fully legal. Krikorian has been a self-proclaimed titan of the industry since the age of 11. It has been a life-long passion, one that he cultivated into a true empire. He has other farms back in his home state of Pennsylvania, but the campus garden provides a new venue for when he is doing his work in Maryland.
He started the endeavor to supplement his income and as an outlet for the overwhelming nature of his career.
“My job is all about stress, but I have found ways to manage it,” Krikorian said.
The reduction of transportation costs related to distribution was not a deterrent, either. Moving the supply does not require as much effort in a college town.
Speculatively, the rapid increase of weed cases on campus is tied to another source popping up just seconds from upperclassmen dorms. When asked to comment on this correlation, however, Krikorian gave no usable comment.
“My attorney has suggested I not speak to this question and invoke the fifth amendment,” Krikorian said.
He continues to maintain that his primary customers are non-student members of the campus community, leading many students to wonder if this is why his fellow administrators and the greater institution have not attempted to shut down his operation.
“[Admin are] some of my most loyal supporters of the business,” Krikorian said.
The conspiracy layers of this situation go even deeper. Some critics of Krikorian’s expanding business are also rightfully questioning why the garden club did not discover the patch sooner.
“If they love the garden so much and are there every day, then how did no one notice it? Why just now when the smell has started to waft across Western Shore?” a WC senior questioned. “I think they knew the whole time.”
Similar speculation arose over whether the campus garden has been in on it all along, only splitting from the deal when WC began gaining too much media attention from it. Kent County News and The Chestertown Spy already ran articles on Krikorian’s “one-man” business and it’s only time before The Baltimore Sun catches on.
So far, there has been no consequential response from the Board of Visitors and Governors. It seems as though they are going to turn a blind eye to the project as Krikorian’s demand continues to skyrocket within the community.
Perhaps this could be for admissions purposes — after all, it is just us following our motto: we really are “do[ing] it all” and “do[ing] it here.”
Krikorian, meanwhile, is currently researching how to strengthen his business even more, considering potential franchise options. “The state of Maryland has certainly expanded the market,” Krikorian said. “We will see.”
Photo by Heather Fabrtize