DISCOURAGING DRUG USE?

While many students count down the days until traditional holidays like
Christmas, Yom Kippur or Thanksgiving, others anticipate very different
celebrations -- holidays like April 20.

Better known as 4-20, the date unofficially celebrates national drug day.
Thirty joints, six blunts and a seven-foot-long tobacco pipe were just part
of what junior AZ and his friends had prepared for their celebration.

"We started smoking at 4:20 a.m. on the 20th and didn't finish until 4:20
a.m. the next day," he said.

The Office of Campus Safety judicially referred 12 students for marijuana
use April 20 alone.

Norman Wall, associate director of campus safety, said officers
aggressively enforce the campus drug policy, which bans all illegal drugs
from college grounds.

In fact, there has been an increase in the number of drug-related
violations as recorded in the Annual Security Report. The most recent
statistics available show that during the 1999-2000 academic year, there
were 220 violations, up from 182 the previous year.

"The simple fact that drugs are illegal and they're here makes it a
problem," Wall said. "[But] are people doing it more, or are we just
aggressive?"

Yet some students believe the Ithaca area and college atmosphere encourage
drug use, rendering the drug policy ineffective.

John, a freshman, said campus regulations haven't stopped him from using
drugs -- only his heavy load of coursework has. He said smoking sometimes
hinders his ability to efficiently complete all his work.

"I feel dumb when I smoke a lot," he said.

Jessica, a sophomore, said she has used a variety of drugs. In the past,
she has rubbed cocaine on her gums and used acid, ecstasy and the active
ingredient in Robitussin, called DMX. Right now, she only smokes marijuana
and drinks.

"The only other drugs that are on my list of things to do are 'shrooms and
opium," she said. "I wouldn't do heroin because of its high addiction rate,
and anything [taken] intravenous makes me uncomfortable."

Jessica, who has never been caught using drugs on campus, said she thinks
the college culture is accepting of drug use because it is very easy to get
drugs -- including ecstasy and acid -- on campus. When asked how easy it is
to get marijuana, she laughed.

"It's ridiculous," Jessica said. "It's easier for me to get alcohol or weed
than it is for me to rent a movie."

Probing the policy

As of April 1, the Office of Judicial Affairs had reviewed 240 cases of
drug policy violations this academic year, said Michael Leary, assistant
director of judicial affairs. Non-alcohol drug violations have been 14
percent of the total judicial caseload, he said.

Violations of the campus drug policy are evaluated on a case-by-case basis,
Leary said. Possession or use carries minimum sanctions of academic
probation and some educational or service project. A case that involves
drug dealing would most likely end in suspension, he added.

Leary said three judicial referrals for possession or use results in
removal from the residence halls. He said because the third offense has
far-reaching consequences, a letter is sent home notifying parents after
the second drug violation.

Of the drug cases this year, 99 percent dealt with marijuana, Leary said.

Criminal charges could also be logged if the student is in possession of
large amounts, Wall said. For example, New York state considers 15 ounces
of marijuana or less as a non-criminal charge.

AZ claimed to have been caught smoking marijuana eight times during his
freshman year alone without harsher punishment than probation, but Leary
was skeptical.

"I can't see that being true," he said.

Leary said it may be the students' perception that marijuana and other
drugs are more accepted on campus than drinking alcohol, but the college is
not accepting at all.

"There's no other way to get around it," he said. "If you're using illegal
drugs, you're breaking the law."

Evaluating the problem

Numerous statistics reveal marijuana to be the most frequently used drug on
campus. According to the 1999 Core Institute for Alcohol and Other Drug
Studies survey, 31.3 percent of students used marijuana.

Both Leary and Wall said they believe the majority of people are caught
using marijuana because it is one of the few drugs with a distinct odor.
Air fresheners, towels under doors, blow tubes and window fans are some of
the other telltale signs of drug use, Wall said.

The 1999 Core survey also indicated 6.9 percent of students had used
designer drugs and 12.5 percent had used other types of illegal drugs.

Leary and Wall said they rarely encounter students in possession of
anything other than marijuana. Both said there have been few incidents of
possession involving psylocybin mushrooms, LSD, acid or cocaine on campus.

One category of drugs that is being more frequently found on campus is
misused prescription drugs, Leary said. When students take medications for
disorders they do not have, it can result in a buzz, he said.

David, a freshman, said he occasionally crushes the painkiller Vicodin into
a fine powder and snorts it to incite relaxation.

"It's the same thing as crushing up an Advil to relieve pain," he said.
"It's just that when you snort it, it's going to run through your blood a
heck of a lot faster than if you swallowed it."

David said he knows Vicodin can be dangerous if used improperly but said it
seems safer because it can be prescribed. He said he is more wary of drugs
that come from the street than from the pharmacy.

Campus Safety Director Robert Holt said New York state law classifies any
prescription medication not in its original container as illegal possession.

Wall said finding a student with four or five Ritalin tablets in a plastic
baggie is usually pretty suspicious.

Health Center Director David Newman said measures are in place to prevent
students from picking up prescriptions that are not their own. Students are
required to show photo ID when picking up prescriptions, especially for
medications that control behavior, like Ritalin, he said.

Addressing the abuse

Leary, a member of the President's Task Force on Alcohol and Other Drugs,
said the task force did not change the drug policy along with the
strengthened alcohol policy this fall because they were comfortable with
its effectiveness.

Instead, the task force members chose to concentrate their recommendations
regarding drug use on campus to improve education and training. They hope
to make the campus community more aware of the signs and consequences of
drug use, Leary said.

Priscilla Quirk, coordinator of health promotion and substance abuse
prevention programs, said she is working with judicial affairs to put
together a seminar for students who have violated the drug policy. She said
she is also working to make sure students can get better access to
off-campus professional help.

Counseling Center Director David Spano said his office frequently assists
students with drug or alcohol problems. The underlying problem of use or
abuse often comes out while talking about an immediate problem, like a
driving while intoxicated charge or campus judicial referral.

"It often takes some kind of [incident] for an alcohol or drug user to
realize they have a problem," he said.

Even though the center does assist students with drug and alcohol problems,
there are no drug rehabilitation services on campus, Spano said. The
counselors instead can make assessments and provide links to off-campus
services and rehabilitation centers, like the Alcohol and Drug Council,
Cornerstone Rehabilitation and Youth Challenge.

"This is a good place for them to come initially," Spano said. "Then we can
figure out where to go from there."