GROUP TRIES TO AMEND SUBSTANCE ABUSE POLICY

Favors Amnesty and Counseling for Abusers

Students for Sensible Drug Policy is trying to implement a new medical
amnesty alcohol and drug policy for UCF this semester, which would
allow students a one-time free pass from academic punishment in case
of an overdose.

Under the current Golden Rule Drug-Free Workplace/Drug-Free Schools
Policy Statement, possessing and distributing drugs on campus is
prohibited and, "any UCF employee or student determined to have
violated this policy shall be subject to disciplinary action for
misconduct, action which may include termination or expulsion and
referral for criminal prosecution."

The consumption and sale of alcohol is strictly regulated, prohibiting
the sale to and consumption by anyone under the age of 21, with the
same penalty as the sale of drugs.

If implemented, the new policy would leave students who report a need
for medical attention for a drug or alcohol overdose free of these
consequences. Instead, students would go through a drug and alcohol
prevention program and meet with a counselor.

"The threat of getting in trouble prevents students from calling
police to seek medical attention because they don't want to get the
organization in trouble or they don't want to get the person that's
underage in trouble or the person that's doing drugs in trouble," said
Caroline Talev, SGA senator and vice president of SSDP. "People are
scared to call - that's what we're trying to stop."

Talev said the purpose of the program is "to prevent deaths" and "to
prevent students from being scared of the police officers on campus.
It's strictly about health."

The policy would also leave campus organizations untouched if they
were found to be part of any alcohol or drug-related medical emergency.

Currently, the policy has no restrictions or loopholes, although the
resolution recently passed does state that it would be a one-time only
thing. If the policy is officially passed, limitless usage could be a
possibility.

"I would personally rather see unlimited usage because, statistically,
if you go through the program once, you're probably not going to have
to go through it again," Talev said.

Eric Eingold, SGA senator and former 2007 presidential candidate, also
disagrees with the one-time only idea, saying that while the policy
itself is "absolutely vital," if someone is in a bad situation,
medical attention should be available for them immediately, no matter
what.

One fear about the policy is the possibility that it may encourage
drug and alcohol use among students on campus. Talev said that this
shouldn't be a concern.

"It's kind of like the REACH program and how they hand out condoms,"
Talev said. "They're not saying 'Oh, have sex.' They're just saying
'Oh, we know you're probably going to have sex, so if you're going to
do it, let's be safe about it.'"

Brandie Hollinger, SGA director of Campus Life and the in-coming SGA
president, agrees with Talev, calling the policy, "a great step in the
right direction to provide better protection for our students."

Not all students agree, though. Pedro Lopes, a sophomore philosophy
major, said that while he thinks "it's important to not let somebody
die over nothing," he also thinks the policy "kind of promotes a free
haven for using drugs."

Others question whether or not the policy will even be used if
implemented.

Anthony Furbush, speaker of the senate and a former 2007 presidential
candidate, believes the policy will definitely be employed.

"I think, personally, that one of the biggest things when you're young
is sometimes you don't necessarily make the right decisions," Furbush
said. "When you get into a bad situation, half the time you're afraid
to call because you're afraid of consequences."

Jeremy Gross, a junior philosophy major, believes people won't call
because of fear that the cops will find out, since the policy doesn't
shield students from prosecution from law enforcement.

Talev and the SSDP will be taking the policy to the Golden Rule
Committee sometime this semester. Talev hopes that it will be put in
to effect before she graduates this May.

"Hopefully it will be implemented as soon as possible," Talev
said.

If implemented, UCF would be joining schools such as Cornell
University and the University of Pennsylvania that have successfully
used this policy in their school systems.

A study done by Cornell University and published in the International
Journal of Drug Policy in July 2006 showed that between the school
year before the policy was implemented, 2002-2003, and the four years
after the policy had been implemented, 2005-2006, calls to Cornell EMS
rose from 63 to 91, more than a 44 percent increase. Alcohol-related
emergency room visits increased from 67 to 97, a nearly 45 percent
increase.