You've spent the past few weeks rushing around trying to find the cheapest kettle and the warmest duvet. You've got the Adidas T-shirt and the latest Portishead album Youthink you're finally prepared for student life Then, suddenly, reality dawns You're going to university, tomorrow Arghhhhh.. I was terrified. On the motorway, others suffering the same plight threw understanding looks from car windows partially blocked by stereos and saucepans. We finally pulled up outside the halls of residence in Leeds. We passed the door, with my room number on it, on its side in the corridor. It was a new building and the finishing touches were still being added.An hour later my Dad had introduced the door to its hinges and my Mum had scanned the block for potential sons-in-law. I was at the bar at the time and the police had left before I returned to my seat.""When I finish my course I hope to emigrate and get a job.

My degree will be my passport to my future."With another year of study left he has no intention of quitting his lucrative but risky trade The balance between drugs and study is fine. "It's more important to get my degree rather than sell gear," he explains, "but I can't do one without the other.". The police came in and went straight to where I had been sitting with my friend They mistook him for me and searched him. A first-time offender would probably get a fine and community service, but a drugs record would mean travel restrictions and a bar to overseas residency, narrowing Brian's career options.So far he has been lucky "I've had a few near misses - brushes with the law I was grassed up in a town centre pub once. However, one has to weigh that against the inevitable traumas of formalised assessment procedures, the time, the cost, and the danger of a narrowing of educational provision to "teach to the tests". The biggest concern I have is in relation to the way results are likely to be summarised and reported to the nation. I worry that I am going to get grassed up, so I keep it within several social circles."Brian dismisses the idea that the next knock on the door could be the police "I consider myself to be small-time.

The profit margins are higher with harder drugs, but the lure of this extra money is outweighed by the increased risks of being caught.He will only sell cannabis, but he has considered what would happen if he did get caught. I provide a service rather than being a stereotypical pusher," he says.But the risks involved do occasionally keep him awake at night "It could jeopardise my career Selling drugs is illegal. I smoke far too much, more than I would were I not dealing," he says.But the moral aspect is not an issue. At first it was a sideline, but when he decided to go to university he was forced to take dealing seriously. He had no financial support from his parents and his pounds 1,800 grant did not stretch very far."I would have had to get a job, which would have meant less time for study," he explains. "If it was financially worthwhile to study, then I wouldn't deal."He buys four and a half ounces of cannabis a time at around pounds 325, and makes a profit of around pounds 125.