CAMPUS DRUGS

More and more in WSU studetns are bringing their habits from home.

Authorities at WSU worry students' attitudes toward drugs have led to
increased usage.

"We are only getting the tip of the iceberg," said Lt. Scott West of
the WSU Police Department. "We take five to 10 reports of odors a
week from people in residence halls, he said. Normally we develop two
to three cases that end up in an arrest."

West said marijuana appears to be the drug of choice on campus,
although many students also seem to abuse prescription medications.
West said he has seen everything from mushrooms to LSD although the
number of people found to use more elicit drugs pales in comparison
to the people using marijuana. West compared marijuana to beer and
said in the party scene, the two have started to have equal usage by students.

"Most students using dope do not see it as any big deal," West said.
"They have a tendency to think drinking and smoking dope is part of
the college lifestyle and the consequences will not follow them when
they leave here. That just is not the case. If a student graduates
with a drug conviction on their record, that student will have to
answer to that conviction the rest of their life and that can really
hurt, especially if they are trying to get a government job."

Scott said the WSU Police began to notice an increase in drug
prevalence five to seven years ago as officers pulling speeders over
or stopping pedestrians for irregular behavior began to find more
drugs and paraphernalia. West said the switch from recreational use
to a lifestyle does not happen once they start coming to WSU. He said
the majority of drug users developed their habit back home and
brought it with them and they continue to use marijuana or other
drugs thinking it will fit in with college life. West said that just is not so.

"The university has taken a dramatic stance on drugs," West said.
"Every year, we train the floor Resident Advisors on how to spot drug
usage in the dorms. And we have tried to inform students of the
consequences of their actions."

The WSU police do not tackle the drug problem alone. They work
together with the Quad City Task Force that is staffed with law
enforcement from Pullman, Moscow, Lewiston and Clarkston. Each
department has personnel focused in rooting out drug traffickers and
users in the greater Palouse region. West said although the WSU
police department does not have an officer devoted to the task force,
if they cannot fully investigate an incident, they will hand the case
over to the task force.

"We work quite closely with the WSU Police and Pullman Police," said
Brett Myers, Whitman County sheriff and the task force's
spokesperson. "Unfortunately, due to the lack of resources, a lot of
times we end up playing firemen on drug cases, reacting to what has
already happened. WSU had a problem and that problem is not getting
any better."

Myers said on campus the task force has not seen the large presence
of methamphetamines that has become prevalent in the rest of the
county. He said the group finds students bringing drugs with them to
Pullman when they return from the West Coast or Spokane. Growing pot
around campus has not presented much of a problem, West said. The
largest bust the WSU department ever made held just over 30 marijuana
plants, he said. Authorities see drug usage shifting from
experimentation and recreation to a more serious habit for students
on and off campus among the student body. Myers said the supply and
demand is less of a concern than the mentality surrounding the drug culture.

"As a society we have a habit of saying a little drug experimentation
is OK for young people when they venture off onto their own," Myers
said. "In actuality the experimentation affects everyone and often
times leads to addiction."

West and Myers speculate several students fund their college
education by dealing drugs.

"People think we come down too hard on people for using drugs," Myers
said. "They do not see the big picture like we do. We see the
devastation addiction causes and the ruined lives it leaves behind."