USU drug usage low but still with problems
Although the use of drugs on campus is fairly low compared to the national average, USU is not without its substance abuse cases, said Lt. Shane Sessions, USU Police Department.
“Most people just consider drugs to be marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamines, but there are also prescription drugs and, the one most people ignore or forget about, alcohol,” Sessions said.
Sessions attributes the attractiveness of alcohol among college students to the fact that it can be purchased legally at numerous locations for only a few dollars. The other factor is the widely excepted belief that college is a place to come, drink and party.
Not only is drinking on a college campus against state law and USU policy, Sessions said many of the students who begin to drink at college may not know how to do it safely and can be a danger to themselves.
Sessions is one of many USU officials who labels alcohol as a drug in cases where it is being abused, although it is not the only drug popular among college students.
Marijuana is second on the list of frequently used drugs among USU students. It’s relatively inexpensive in comparison to other illegal drugs and it’s very accessible, Sessions said.
Marijuana is also attractive to students because, while it does have obvious affects on reaction time and judgment, it will not fully impair a student, and the majority of time will allow them to continue functioning in a scholastic environment.
Prescription drugs are also growing in popularity among college students, although Sessions said he sees them being used less frequently than marijuana and alcohol.
“More and more people are becoming addicted to very strong pain killers like OxyContin and Vicodin,” Sessions said. “Every day in the state of Utah there is at least one pharmacy held up for these prescription drugs, that’s how addictive they are.”
Drugs rarely found on college campuses, especially USU, are methamphetamines, which cause extreme paranoia and irrational behaviors, Sessions said.
“Typically if a college student starts using meth they don’t last on that campus very long, they can’t handle school anymore because they are always focused on finding that drug,” he said.
According to the 2007 annual USU Police report, the number of drug and alcohol arrests on campus decreased dramatically from 2006.
In 2007, 45 drug and alcohol related arrests were made in comparison to 2006 when 65 were made. The offenses listed included DUI, drug possession, intoxication, MIP, supplying to a minor.
The report also indicated that most arrests were made on Fridays and Saturdays between the hours of 10 p.m. and 2 a.m.
But Sessions said these facts only include the people who were caught and do not relay an accurate depiction of the amount of drug usage on campus.
Sessions also said the majority of drug use and drinking on campus does not occur near educational buildings, rather it takes place at the student’s home, and for a large portion of students that’s on-campus housing.
Whitney Milligan, director of Residence Life at USU, said while drug use and drinking in the residence halls is not an every night occurrence, it happens more frequently than people may believe.
“I think compared to a lot of campuses it’s not very much, but at the same time I think people would be surprised at the amount we do see because of the assumptions that the 80 percent LDS don’t do those sorts of things,” she said.
And in reality, drug usage and drinking are problems distributed among students of all religious affiliation, Milligan said.
The one major consistency Milligan has noticed, however, is the frequency of problems relating to freshmen and underage drinking. While Milligan and her staff rarely run into raging parties as portrayed in the movies, witnessing a few first year students put back a 12 pack in their living room happens more frequently.
But in an attempt to help students rather than immediately give them the cold shoulder, both USU Housing and the university as a whole give students the chance to learn from their mistakes.
Any time a student is caught with an illegal substance on campus they are sent to Dallin Phillips, chief conduct officer for USU. But rather than putting a big X on the student’s transcript, Phillips said they would be referred to the Student Wellness Center for alcohol and drug education courses.
However, every student caught using drugs or alcohol on campus is put on probation and repeat offenders may be expelled from the university.
Students are sent to the Health and Wellness Center because in hopes that they will remedy their behavior before it becomes a problem in both their academic careers and overall course of life, said Ryan Barfuss, prevention specialist and health educator at USU.
“The class is educational. They (class facilitators) do assessment and review and then determine if they (the student) are in need of just class or if they should be referred to rehabilitation somewhere else,” Barfuss said.
The program is 12 to 15 hours of class on and drug and alcohol education, and Barfuss said he hasn’t seen any students need to repeat the program.
–greg.boyles@aggiemail.usu.edu