I’ve written before about why I don’t tan, and unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, you know that tanning carries with it some pretty serious risks. Still, up to 80 percent of people under 25 are convinced that they look better with a tan, and every single day, more than one million Americans visit tanning salons. As dangerous as natural sun exposure can be, it seems that tanning beds may be even worse. People who have used indoor tanning beds are at a 75% higher risk for melanoma, the most lethal form of skin cancer.

So why do people take the risk? Because they want to look good. And, according to a new study, they may be addicted. In 2005, scientists showed that many sunbathers met the medical definition of substance abuse disorder. This inspired researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center to dig a little deeper. Their results, which were published over the summer, found that brain scans of frequent tanners showed activity that was similar to the patterns of drug addiction.

The subjects of the study were people who reported tanning at least three times a week, and said that maintaining a tan was important to them. Researchers suspected that the tanners were addicted to the UV light they were exposed to in the tanning beds. So they gave participants a normal tanning experience sometimes, but at other times used a special filter to block out the UV rays. And even though the tanners were unaware of the change, they subconsciously knew that something was off. Participants enjoyed the normal sessions, but after the fake sessions, subjects said that they still felt like they needed to tan. Researchers say that these people really do appear to be addicted to tanning.

And now, if there are similar tanning addicts who are under 18, they’re about to have a problem. Just a few weeks ago, the Governor of California signed a law making the use of tanning beds illegal for all minors. A few states already ban tanning beds for people under 16 or under 14, and now 17 states are considering laws similar to California’s. Many medical organizations and skin cancer advocates say this is a great step, and have voiced support for these laws. But owners of tanning salons worry that this will hurt business and cause people to lose jobs. Most of all, frequent tanners complain that tanning is a choice, and one that they have a right to make.

What do you think? Should people be able to make their own choices about tanning despite its risks? Or is it important to pass these laws in order to protect people, especially teens?

No, I’m not being peer pressured (my guy friends aren’t begging to give me their weed for free…they want it for themselves!); I’m just curious and I sorta want to see what all the fuss is about.

And, yes, I know it’s technically illegal, but we’ll just skip that part and look at it realistically, shall we? Since we’re normally all law-abiding, good college students who would never do anything wrong or illegal, obvi. (Like those 2.5 years in college where we were under 21….)

Love it
Or rather, my friends love it. They always tell me about how good they feel afterward, like “a balloon that has just been released to go float among the clouds.” (Yeah, he was already high. I didn’t really get it, either.) Some claim it even helps them work better, especially for creative writing papers and art class. It relieves stress, helps you sleep better, gives you confidence (for my shy guy friends to ask out girls), and just makes you happier in general.

I’ve also heard friends say it helps with headaches, toothaches, and even sex. Oh, and I’m told some movies (like Pineapple Express) are ten times better high than not (which might be why I didn’t like it that much). Medically speaking, it helps thousands of people relieve the pain they suffer from glaucoma and many other maladies, so it can’t be detrimental to your body, right? I mean, even Michael Phelps is doin’ it and he’s the best athlete in the world!

Loathe it
It’s illegal.

If you’re caught with it, you could be fined or go to jail or, worse, your parents could find out and you’ll be forever labeled “the girl who does drugs” at family reunions. It also makes your clothes smell, makes your wallet lighter, and makes you on the lookout for your hit next constantly. (Editor’s Note: Or your next bag of chips. Those munchies are brutal, girlfriend.) You could get addicted and keep spiraling down and do things you normally wouldn’t do, like stealing and cheating just to get high again.

Also, I live a pretty healthy lifestyle (except the occasional tailgate) and don’t want to do anything harmful to my body, especially something dangerous and illegal like weed. It reminds me too much of smoking, which I absolutely hate, and I can’t help but wonder deep down that it’s illegal for a reason. Just what is it doing to people’s insides?

When it comes down to it, there are so many other fun things to do with my friends than light up a joint and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my life so far without it, so why change? I would rather spend my money on those Alexander McQueen booties I saw at Fashion Week anyway. But I’m in college and college is about experimenting, so I’m completely torn.

Help?

However, a couple of weeks ago I was presented with a problem when the advisor of my sorority came to me with pictures of me and my fellow sisters drinking in the house. While it is pretty easy to deny that you break the rules, it is hard to do so when you are presented with a picture of yourself mid-Smirnoff shot in your own room.

Though none of the pictures came from my own albums, I still found myself staring at my own face. These were pictures that were DE-TAGGED. Pictures that I had known were inappropriate, and had clicked the little button next to my name, the one that makes everything bad go away. I suppose when we all look at the pictures tagged of us and don’t see one, we forget that, despite not having our name, it still exists. Albums from August with pictures that I had forgotten existed were shown to me. While my first thought was, “Wow, this person needs a life if she is stalking pictures of me from 6 months ago,” my second one was “Well. This isn’t pretty.”

To steal one of the most worthwhile things my father has ever said to me, it wasn’t that our parents didn’t do stupid or illegal things when they were younger. They just never had to worry that within 24 hours, this illegal activity would be popping up on mini-feeds all over the country. While my experience with adults and Facebook has luckily left me with minimal scars, this was my first warning to how technology-savvy bosses can check in on their future employers. My advisor used a girl in my house to spy on us. Large companies have greater access, more resources, and more reasons to background check their employees’ backgrounds. Would you really want someone who advertises pictures of themselves passed out drunk or in a cloud of smoke in your law firm every day?

So here is the warning: Delete Delete Delete. Do not de-tag. And if you are like me and still want everyone to be able to see your pictures, discover snapfish.com. You can e-mail your friends and family your albums and, since it is a website, you are safe in case your computer ever crashes and you lose everything. While I love the ease and access Facebook allows, having my friends view pictures of us holding vodka in one hand and rum in the other aren’t worth me being punished again.

[Photo courtesy of Asurroca on Flickr.]

But what are the kinds of things that you would never want to find in your guy’s room? Besides the very obvious (unrecognizable panties, bras, earrings, condom wrappers) I can name a few…

1. Super Creepy Porn.

You can pretty much accept the fact that there will be some form of porn in your guy’s room at some point. You can also be fairly sure that you will accidentally intercept said pornography via mail, browser history or that shoebox under his bed. (Tip: boys don’t want you to surprise them with spring cleaning; you probably shouldn’t want to surprise them with it either.) No big deal, I say, come to terms with the fact that while your guy absolutely loves hooking up with you, he will still want to look at porn. It’s just a different outlet for their sexuality and can actually improve your sex life when seen from the right perspective. Additionally, it’s a good substitute for when your boyfriend wants to get it on (always) and you don’t (rarely, but it happens). If there were no porn there would be an abnormally high amount of blue balls or of extremely exhausted girlfriends.

All the benefits of porn aside, though, there are some types you don’t want to find. I’m not even talking about anal, little people or ridiculously oversized toys (all pretty normal in porn-world.) I’m talking animals. I’m talking leprechaun-on mermaid-on Easter bunny 3-ways. I’m talking about really flattering pictures of you superimposed over the faces of “interacting” nuns (definitely not real Catholics). Unless your man has previously shared his kink-tastic ways with you, skeevy porn is definitely something you do not want to find in your man’s room…unless you’re into it…

2. Bloody Clothes.

You’d think this would be a pretty huge red flag, but there are plenty of excuses as to why your man might have bloody clothes in his room. Perhaps he is an outdoorsman who enjoys slaughtering deer on weekends. Maybe he was building you a birdhouse and things went seriously wrong with the electrical sander. Or, for those of use with the more typical college boyfriend, he was drunk and tripped on/punched/tried to cartwheel over something and got hurt doing it. All of those reasons aside, should you find a duffel bag with a black turtleneck, jogging pants, ski mask and/or machete covered in blood, run for the hills, girl.

3. A Shrine-Like Gathering of Your Personal Items.

Remember Helga from “Hey! Arnold”? Yea, the crazy blonde who built a very realistic rendition of Arnold out of his used gum. Well you just found a creepily similar statue tucked behind your man’s winter coats. It’s a great complement to the ring of scented votives in a circle around the pair of panties you wore the first time you two hooked up (you knew they went missing…), a suspiciously your-hair-colored hairball, pictures of you undressing that look like they were taken from a distance and old love letters…to your ex-boyfriends, dating back to Aaron from 4th grade. I can’t see how this would be construed as flattering, so don’t even let that thought enter your head, ladies – Noah built Allie a house, not a shrine. Hint: if you find this in his closet, I’d start looking around for the bloody clothes, just to be sure…

4. His “Meds.”

If one day you are innocently on the hunt for some ibuprofen and you find his prescription for anti-psychosis meds, it’s probably not a great sign. If you continue to look for more pills that he neglected to tell you he was on and find a cocktail of Xanax, Percocets, Valtrex and Penicillin it’s definitely a bad sign. Either homeboy has some serious dirt to spill about his last few check-ups, or you might just be dating a drug dealer. Either way, not disclosing certain ailments he has (STD’s, mental disorders, the usual) is a serious breach of trust and needs to be dealt with right away. My suggestion is to call the cops on his RX-happy ass or, if you’re into illegal activity and desperately in need of Spring Break funds, swipe ‘em and ask your most trusted sketchy friend where a gal goes about selling these kinds of things.

5. His other phone.

We all know that going through a loved one’s phone is a huge invasion of privacy and can often end in a breakup (as opposed to going through a stranger’s phone that you found at Happy Hour before returning it to them, which can often end in hilarity.) But let’s say you’re just lounging around one morning that you skipped class, watching some Ellen while your honey picks up bagels for some breakfast in bed. You hear a strange humming, it’s not your phone, and you check his charger—nope, not his phone either. But this vibration is pretty persistent, almost as persistent as an ex-girlfriend trying to get in touch with your boyfriend…

With this hunch, you get up to investigate, put Ellen on mute, and walk around the room listening for the bzzzz. You slowly open his sock drawer, where a mysterious blue light is glowing from the dress sock section (ok he probably doesn’t have his socks categorized, but you get it). You pick up a phone that you’ve never seen before. Michelle Great Rack is calling. You answer, presumably to help this Michelle put her great rack to use with whoever this phone really belongs to, only to have her coo your boyfriend’s name in a very phone-sex inducing voice. After explaining to Michelle that she and her rack have been aiding a cheating lying scumbag, you sift through dirty texts, inappropriate pictures, and AIM conversations so smooth your soon to be ex could be in a shaving cream commercial. You forward a few choice messages to your guy’s “legit” phone before calling him and telling him what you found in his room.

What would make you run screaming from your man’s apartment? Have you ever found any of the above items? Did you stick around long enough to tell him why you won’t be sleeping over anymore?

What am I going to be using it for? If you’re buying a fake primarily just to buy your friends booze every once in awhile, it’s probably not worth it to go through the whole process of getting one. It would be easier to just find an older friend to buy for you. If you want one to get into concerts, bars, clubs, comedy clubs, etc., with friends who also have fakes or who are older, then it’s more beneficial for you to have one. This way you’re at least getting your money’s worth, and you know for sure you have others who can join you in your illegal adventures.

Who am I buying one off of? Some of my friends have gotten fakes from a random sketchy place down in Chinatown. Even though they only paid 60 bucks for it, the ID says that it’s not government issued and a lot of places haven’t accepted them. Needless to say, they got sh*tty fakes.

It’s better to buy a fake ID off of someone who will show you what his fakes look like and who has some references so you know how the IDs have held up. Even better is someone who will replace your ID if it doesn’t end up scanning or if you don’t like the end result.

Keep in mind, some good fake IDs are pricey. I know of friends who make un-scannable IDs for 80 bucks while certain ID’s that do scan cost between $100-$150.

Am I ready to deal with the consequences if I get caught? This is a HUGE question to ask yourself before buying a fake because you never know what can happen or how your area deals with IDs. My friend was caught with a fake ID in my small hometown and arrested for it while two of my friends caught in NYC just had their’s taken away with a slap on the wrists. Depending on who catches you, there can be major consequences that could seriously eff up the rest of your life. NEVER take buying a fake lightly.

All in all, my friends who have fakes have been happy and understand the risks involved. Mine has held up for more then a year with no problems (knock on wood) — although I am very picky about where I go with it.

Two more details to keep in mind: know what the real state ID of your fake looks like and ALWAYS have your real name on the fake. Using a fake name is identity theft and if caught, your charges will be worse.

If you’re not up to getting a fake, using an older friend’s ID works too. Or…you know, just wait until you’re 21.

Any thoughts or advice on fakes? Would you get one?

Now, before certain readers out there go all NARC on my ass, let me say that I make it a point to stay away from hard drugs. No coke, no herion…nothing that’s genetically altered to speed me towards an early death. I like to stick to the hippie stuff; weed, shrooms, hashish…you know, things that come from nature. And I’m very careful about who I purchase this stuff from. Those of us that partake in these sorts of relaxation techniques should always be careful about that sort of thing. People are a**holes.

Right, so public service announcement over. What I’m really writing about is this article I recently read on Salon.com about Salvia, a hallucinogenic substance that’s illegal in about 10 states and is probably going to be made illegal in a bunch more very soon. According to the author of the article (and a few friends of mine), Salvia is super potent — but only for 5 to 10 minutes. Apparently, you will trip off your ass and see the weirdest sh*t in the world (including Aztec Gods…or at least that’s what the writer saw), but it’ll all be over in minutes.

Lots of people want Salvia banned because, well, I mean…it can basically be classified as a drug, and if weed is going to be criminalized, allowing Salvia to be bought over the internet kind of makes the whole keep pot illegal argument look stupid.

Based on the descriptions in the Salon article, and descriptions from my friends (“I was sitting inside the sun, dude. Like, literally inside the sun. It was all round and hot. Like SO hot. And crazy BRIGHT!! How did I not go BLIND?!“), I’m not really eager to jump on the Salvia bandwagon. It sounds a little too intense for my taste. I smoke to relax, not travel to the 5th dimension, and any trip that people recommend having a “sober buddy around” for is not a trip I really want to be taking.

Have any of you ever had experiences with Salvia? Do you think it should be illegal?

When the paparazzi takes photos of Lindsay Lohan or Nicole Ritchie with a Red Bull in their hands, we flock to gas stations for our own personal can of the sweet/tart, crack immitating beverage.

That being said, when companies produced the energy drink Cocaine it caused a little bit of a catastophe, picturing twelve year old teeny boppers guzzling a beverage that is compared to crack. Even if the affects are the same, it’s one thing to actually name it after an illegal substance.

Needless to say, energy companies didn’t learn their lesson…and they’re at it again:

Introducting “Blow“

The campaign has skinny, seductive and barely dressed women and even has Myspace. Naturally. Add Me. Not to mention they attempt realing you in with the “I love blow supports out troops” blog, and the parties thrown in Las Vegas by rockstars promoting their drink.

The “drink” is a powdery substance in a small vile that is supposed to be mixed into other beverages.

Hm. Interesting. So interesting I’ve decided to write a letter.

Dear makers of “I Love Blow“,

You need a talking to. The whole concept of advertising and using illegal drugs as your campaign, makes me want to vomit. How irresponsible are you???? There is no “lightness” to be taken when speaking about harmful and addictive substances. It isn’t “trendy” to tote around these beverages, it isn’t “cool” to have viles of powder in your purse, and NO, it isn’t ok, to endorse and hype something so negative.

I can’t wait until your company is shut down, maybe then you’ll learn your lesson.

Best Wishes!

Chelsea

Energy drinks.

Most of us have tried them, and some of us have tried them all. Every week another choice seems to pop up, promising everything from a little “oomph” enhancement to a metabolism increase to an “illegal” amount of taste.We swallow them down because we want the boost, not because they taste anything near good, many of us foregoing coffee for a chemical concoction because of it’s supposed higher caffeine content.

Not to disappoint you, but the amount of stimulant in that sugar-and-piss liquid may be lower than its advertisers would have you believe.

A recent study found that many energy drinks have about the same caffeine content as an 8 oz cup of coffee, dismissing the notion that every drink with the word “energy” attached to it is a better deal than buying a quick cup of java on your way to class.

While the information is interesting, it’s not enough to keep me permanently away from the Red Bull. I now know which drinks aren’t worth it, but giving up the strange, almost hallucinatory feeling of unnatural energy RB provides is not something my body is willing to do right now, especially with school just around the corner.

It tastes like crap, it’s completely unnatural, but it gets the job done…without the often unfortunate coffee consequence of an immediate visit to the porcelain throne.

So, the moral? You’re probably better off buying coffee, unless you want to do something chemically intense to your body. In that case, stay away from lame choices.