DEALING WITH A DRUG ABUSER

Dear Dr. Peg,

I live with my roommate, Ted. He smokes a lot of pot and regularly
uses painkillers and ecstasy. He isn't doing bad in school and is very
normal otherwise. Should I help him to quit, or is there anything to
worry about?

Dear Ted's pal,

You are in a tough spot. This is a very complicated question that
brings up a lot of issues. Marijuana, painkillers, ecstasy - the
effects of all of those on Ted and you as well as the ever-delicate
roommate relations.

Although he may appear to be holding it together so far, Ted is taking
some legal and academic chances, not to mention chances with his
health. Each of the three drugs Ted is using has pleasurable effects -
otherwise nobody would use them. We'll take that as a given.
Therefore, I'm going to confine my comments to the negative effects,
particularly as they pertain to college students who are trying to
study, learn and graduate.

Marijuana, or pot, tends to make people lazy and complacent. Picture
the stereotypical stoner, happy to just lie around doing nothing. In
clinical terms, marijuana can cause decreased motivation and
attention, slowed reaction time, impaired memory and frequent
respiratory infections. None of this bodes well for academic success.
As for you, the innocent by-smoker, inhaled secondhand smoke of any
kind can be harmful.

Painkillers can cause sedation and confusion. They are also highly
addictive. Illicit use of painkillers is very common. One study in the
Journal of American College Health found 9 percent of college students
used pain medicine illicitly during their lifetime. That translates to
roughly 3,000 UNM students.

Vicodin and its relatives are a hot street item, and you can't get
them for nothing. Drug addicts have been known to go to great lengths
to feed their habit, including theft of other people's money and
property. You didn't describe the extent of Ted's painkiller use, but
if he is addicted, your property could be in jeopardy.

Ecstasy is usually used sporadically as a party drug and, at those
amounts, it rarely causes long-term trouble, although there have been
some incidents of memory damage from a single dose. There have been
some deaths of ravers whose drinks were spiked with very high doses,
and there have been some cases of this drug getting mixed with the
cheaper and dangerous methamphetamine.

It's hardly candy. If Ted uses it often over a long period of time, he
could have problems with his memory and learning. Worse, he could
experience severe negative effects such as agitation, bizarre
behavior, delirium or even psychotic episodes. This could put you in
physical danger.

In summary, Ted could be in more trouble than it appears, as could
you.

What should you do? I'd say you have three choices: do nothing,
intervene or leave.

I don't recommend doing nothing. Clearly, the situation is bothering
you and needs to be addressed one way or another. At the very least,
you might want to talk to a professional for more specific advice than
I can give in this limited format.

Should you intervene? Well, the only person who can change Ted's drug
use is Ted. And he'll do that only if he wants to. However, you can
express your concerns as his friend - and I would encourage you to do
so - you can talk to him about how his drug use affects you. You can
share your concerns about how it might affect his health and academic
success. You can even guide him in the direction of resources to help
him, if he doesn't know where to go for help. You can get in touch
with the Campus Office of Substance Abuse Prevention at 277-2795, the
Counseling and Therapy Services at 277-4537 or the Albuquerque Metro
Central Intake at 272-9033. You can offer to be an ear if he needs to
talk. But you can't change him. That is his job.

Ask yourself if you want to stay in the situation. Is Ted's drug use
affecting your ability to do your job here at UNM, which is to be a
successful student? Is worrying about him taking up your study time?
When he's high, does his behavior distract or endanger you? Does he
have unsavory "business associates" that hang around? What about the
legal risk of having drugs in the shared space? Remember, your primary
responsibility is to yourself. You might want to move.

Good luck. Your problem is fairly common, but that doesn't make it
easy. Thanks for writing.

Peggy Spencer has been a UNM student-health physician for 16 years.
E-mail your questions to her. All questions
will be considered, and all questioners will remain anonymous. This
column has general health information only and cannot replace a visit
to a health care provider.