Story by Lauren Baddour
Brandon Srinath and his fiancé who goes by A.K. were out for a midnight stroll when they came across a crowd huddled around an unconscious young woman covered in vomit. A.K., a former paramedic, determined the woman had been overserved at a local bar and turned her on her side to scoop out remaining vomit and clear her airway. Her friends hadn’t called 911 and were waiting for the P2P shuttle.
“They were going to put her on a bus and take her to her dorm room where she probably would have died,” A.K. said, declining to use her last name. “These kids were obviously underage; they didn’t want to get in trouble.”
The college drinking culture often promotes dangerous behaviors such as habitual binge drinking and underage consumption. Now young people are educating themselves about alcohol’s long-term effects and more shops are offering alternatives.
A 2021 study by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism found that 49.3 percent of students aged 18-22 had consumed alcohol in the past month. More than 1,500 alcohol-related deaths occur among college students per year, and 1 in 5 college women will experience sexual assault, which often involves alcohol.
“Especially as a young woman, if you haven’t really been out to bars or you don’t know how to identify predatory behavior, that’s scary,” A.K. said.
Studies have also indicated that more people are choosing a sober lifestyle and moving away from alcohol is an especially trendy choice among Generation Z. A Gallup poll from 2021 found that while people who attend college are more likely to drink, adults aged 18-34 are 10 percent less likely to drink than adults aged 35-54. Additionally, the hashtag “sober curious” is trending on TikTok with more than 750 million views.
UNC-Chapel Hill college senior Caroline Kaynor says she has noticed that during her time in college alcohol has taken a toll on her body. Still wanting to socialize, she discovered seltzers containing vitamins and supplements such as CBD and ashwagandha.
“When I’m holding something in my hand and taking sips with other people, I still get those social effects,” Kaynor said.
As the owner of Botana-Cart, Srinath is very aware of those social effects. Botana-Cart is a mobile shop that sells Delta 8, Delta 9, Delta 10 and CBD products. He opened his business in 2021 and has since expanded it to include multiple full-time employees. He opened a permanent storefront on West Rosemary Street on Dec. 1 in order to carry a wider variety of products. The store will remain open past 2 a.m. to compete with the “late night” scene.
“The big reason we started is to provide an alternative to alcohol,” Srinath said. “It’s OK to remember what your Friday was like, I feel that a lot of people are focused on ‘let’s get blackout.’”
Twenty-four states and Washington, D.C., have legalized marijuana for recreational use, with several more decriminalizing the drug. While it is still illegal in North Carolina, and on a federal level, products such as the ones Botana-Cart sells are allowed with some restrictions. A federal loophole legalizes hemp-derived products as long as the delta-9 concentration is less than 0.3 percent based on dry weight.
Downtown Chapel Hill is home to several dispensary-type shops indicating a growing industry and consumer base. But are these products truly safer than consuming alcohol?
EMT Danielle Cannon says many in the medical community still share concerns with cannabis. Loss of motor skills and impaired perception of time make driving under the influence a potential issue, especially when there is no way to test for a cannabis high. Additionally, ingesting THC products that have been laced with another drug such as fentanyl can be deadly, especially for first time users.
Many lobbyists and policy makers advocating for the full legalization of marijuana argue that people will consume THC regardless of the law and the easiest way to prevent negative consequences is to provide safe products and information about strategies for use.
But as with any substance, Cannon stressed the importance of using in moderation, citing cannabis hyperemesis (severe and cyclical vomiting) as an effect of regular and sustained cannabis use. Those who use too high of a dose might also experience a psychotic episode or experience paranoia.
“A lot of people will think they’re having a heart attack,” Cannon said. “Honestly, that’s probably one of the biggest groups we see from using cannabis is people that think they’re dying, but they’re usually not.”
Cannon further argued that while both alcohol and THC products have their pitfalls, it’s the responsibility of the user to indulge safely.
“In a college town where you have a lot of binge drinking, it could potentially be a safer alternative,” Cannon said. “The short term effects tend to be less dangerous.”
A poll by SurveyUSA conducted in 2022 found that 57 percent of N.C. voters support legalizing marijuana, and two bills passed their first readings in the state legislature despite ultimately dying.
The state of North Carolina would generate an extra $15.1 million dollars by legalizing marijuana for just for medical use, according to a WCNC article, with even more profit available if it were legal for recreational use.
Regardless of the law, more people across the country are turning toward botanicals to let off steam.
“I think it’s really amazing that Chapel Hill is kind of normalizing alternatives to alcohol,” Kaynor said.
