Talking Stick - January/February 2011 - 10

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Popular Drinks and Drugs Continuously Challenge Policies
As student populations grow and new drugs and alcoholic beverages appear on the campus scene, enforcing campus drug and alcohol policies becomes an even more pressing issue for housing staff. While colleges and universities have developed policies to downsize some of these problems, many of these issues have continued to challenge the operations of residential and campus life. With its high alcohol content (12 percent) and powerful caffeine boost, Four Loko has gained notoriety as a strong but cheap alcoholic energy drink (approximately $2.50 for a 23.5 ounce can). This past fall, 23 students at Ramapo College in Mahwah, New Jersey, were hospitalized and 10 freshmen at Central Washington University in Ellensburg were sent to the hospital after consuming large amounts of the beverage. In light of these incidents, Four Loko and other alcoholic energy drinks have been banned by these institutions. As of press time, Four Loko has also been banned in Washington, Michigan, Utah, Oklahoma, New York, and Kansas. Phusion Projects, maker of the drink, released a statement on November 16 that they were taking the stimulants caffeine, guarana, and taurine out of the beverage. Then on November 17, after a year of research on drinks of this type, the United States Food and Drug Administration announced that it is indeed unsafe to mix alcohol and caffeine in the same beverage. Accordingly, if any company continues to produce alcoholic energy drinks the government can seize the product. Listed as a “drug of concern” by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, synthetic cannabinoids (known as Spice) are readily available, legal drugs that are marketed as incense but provide a similar high to marijuana when smoked. The overdose and hospitalization of two students this fall at Syracuse University in New York has strengthened campus concern for Spice. Terra Peckskamp, the director of the Office of Residence Life, says the residence halls have “rolled the issue into education and awareness programs” to avoid sensationalizing the drug. Making students aware of what they are buying as well as the consequences of Spice are important aspects to educating the residents and staff. Medical marijuana is another controversial topic in college and university housing, and the possession of medical marijuana cards by students conflicts with drug policies in the residence halls. At Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo, university housing staff allow students with these cards to live in residence halls, but they emphasize the need to use marijuana outside campus boundaries. Carole Schaffer, the director of residential life and education, notes that, with any type of drug use, staff must emphasize “proactive education and awareness for students.” Electronic cigarettes are also a new trend popping up on campus. Claiming to help smokers quit, these are non-FDA approved products that are composed of batterypowered metallic tubes containing a liquid nicotine mixture. In contrast to cigarettes, these products contain no health warnings and also lack safety information. In response to the growing popularity of these cigarettes, Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant has banned their use in residence halls as well as campus buildings. This decision was guided by research findings which indicated that the electronic cigarettes release harmful chemicals into the air when smoked. In an effort to evaluate student opinion on the issue, Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland, issued a campus-wide survey regarding the use of these cigarettes. Supporting the results of the survey, the college voted in favor of placing the product under the current smoking policy, banning its use in residence halls and campus buildings. While electronic cigarettes are suggested as a safe alternative to smoking, many colleges and universities still categorize them as an equally harmful substance. Several tobacco-free campuses such as the University of Florida in Gainesville have already taken the initiative to ban these alternate forms of cigarettes.
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Inspired by Mario Muñoz, University of California; Joan Schmidt, Central Michigan University

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Talking Stick - January/February 2011

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