Degree of Success

A rundown on some of the most cannabis-friendly campuses in the nation

What is more humorous than discovering that Mrs. Dick Cheney (Lynne) and the South Park creators attended the same university? How about the fact that their school—University of Colorado Boulder—just got named the No. 1 cannabis college in the nation! Based on 122,000 student surveys, The Princeton Review’s college rankings include a “Reefer Madness” section, and campuses in California, Oregon, Washington and Colorado all made the list!

University of Colorado Boulder (#1)

Following last year’s honors as Playboy’s top party school, UC-Boulder now rocks the Reefer Madness at No. 1. This is a surprise since the CU staff used “stinky fish fertilizer” to suppress this year’s 4/20 smokeout. Ironically, the 4/20 site also hosted President Obama last month, though talk of college roof hits was noticeably absent from the speech. As far as alum, only one can say her VP hubby shot a 78-year-old man in the face, but the 26,000-student campus can claim Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, (Sid and) Nancy Spungeon and possible Cartman-inspiration Jonah Hill.

University of California – Santa Cruz (#2)

Jello Biafra was born in Colorado, but the Dead Kennedys singer pursued higher education at UC Santa Cruz, as did Rebecca Romijn, Andy Samberg and Klingon linguist Marc Okrand. Yes, that’s Klingon as in Star Trek. The forest-set school landed the No. 2 spot with good reason. You don’t see Bringham Young launching an online Grateful Dead archive or offering classes on Bob Dylan and the Beatles. The 16,000-student UCSC also hosts the annual First Rain event, a 23-year tradition in which students run naked through the campus during the first heavy rains of the year (we mentioned Rebecca Romijn went here, right?). As far as their popular 4/20 smokeout, a student named “Elly” told ABC News, “Everyone gets together and it’s a celebration of happiness and peace and springtime.”

Evergreen State College (#6)

Located in Olympia, Washington this 4,500-student school was described as “a hippie college . . . that drew every weirdo in the Northwest” by ’70s alumnus and Simpsons creator Matt Groening. Of course, he attended Evergreen at the same time as Seinfeld’s “Kramer” (Michael Richards), and not every school names its sports teams after a local clam. Evergreen students are more likely to celebrate 4:20 than 4/20, so maybe the school deserved better than a No. 6 ranking?

University of California – Santa Barbara (#10)

We’re not sure what a hydrology major is, but we like how it sounds, and UCSB owns the 10 spot. The 19,000-student school claims such diverse alums as Michael Douglas, Jim Rome, former ambassador Joe Wilson and Black Panthers co-founder Huey Newton. Like most people, you probably assumed Sean Hannity went to DeVry, but the right-winger hosted a college radio show here and even worked with the evil ACLU after homophobic comments got his ass canned. This beachside school has been partying ever since. UCSB also landed a pair of No. 7s on the Hard Liquor and Party School lists.

Lewis & Clark College (#13)

Ranked number six for usage by The Princeton Review, this environmentally friendly college is number one for many young cannabis aficionados right in the heart of Portland. The progressive campus is so pro-weed that, according to CollegeProwler.com, the campus had to create Designated Smoking Areas (DSAs) outside of the dorms so the few non-smokers could get some air in edgewise, notably found by conspicuous green umbrellas. They’ve even joined forces with other local colleges to legalize marijuana use statewide. It’s no wonder alumni have turned out like Chief Justice Percy R. Kelly, U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer and even Monica Lewinsky.

Colorado College (#14)

No. 14 on the Reefer roll call? Say it ain’t so. Last year’s crowned college dropped 13 spots, but it is still nice to see a Reefer school in Colorado Springs, home to Focus on the Family and more Christian music than the penthouse suite in heaven. The 2,000-student school also ranked No. 12 for “Birkenstock-Wearing, Tree-Hugging, Clove-Smoking Vegetarians,” so how is it we’re name checking the Cheneys again? Mama Cheney and daughters Elizabeth and Mary all did their undergrad here, so forget gay marriage—Dick should be coming out for MMJ!

Reed College in Oregon (#20)

Back in 2008, The Princeton Review released its latest list of canna-friendly campuses . . . but that list (which featured New York’s Bard College as #1) failed to include Reed College, a private, left-leaning liberal arts college in Portland that is considered an elite school by some—and very permissive when it comes to student drug use by others. Its annual hippie fest, Renn Fayre, is well-known and was once called “higher education’s Burning Man.” So it should come as no surprise that John Sperling, a businessman and founder of University of Phoenix, got his undergrad degree from Reed (and a master’s from UC Berkeley—another marijuana-tolerant campus, by the way). Sperling—along with Progressive Insurance chairman Peter Lewis and magnate/philanthropist George Soros—is one of the top three contributors to legalization and marijuana-related political campaigns.