"I have a friend that accidentally boughtsuper-grass--marijuana coated with PCP," she says,adding that her group uses its outreach to informstudents of these dangers.
Old News
Eric R. Ashley '00, co-director of Project ADD,a student peer counseling group designed to combatalcohol and drug use on campus, says theorganization seeks to educate students on theeffects of illicit drug use through outreach andother services, but that it is often a losingbattle.
"In terms of how to reach students onmarijuana: If I had the golden answer, peoplewould be knocking down my door," Ashley says.
Students who are caught using drugs on campusare subject to warning for the first offense andmay be asked to seek counseling, according to theHand-book for Students.
Ashley says that although Project ADD is theonly peer group that explicitly includes drugeducation within its mission, the group hastargeted most of its efforts to alcoholprevention.
Rosenthal suggests that drug use on campus isdifficult to address because, unlike drinking, itis covert.
"Most of it is concealed. Most of it seems tobe controlled," he says.
Rosenthal adds that administrators find themselves in a bind when it comes to combating druguse.
"We would like to teach people how to drinkresponsibly. To teach people about use of illegaldrugs becomes illegal," he says.
Students contacted said they were unaware ofany drug education efforts on the part of theCollege. But, they say, such outreaches would notbe helpful.
"I think that kids get enough of it in highschool that I don't think anything is going tohelp. They've already made their decision," says asophomore in Mather House.
An Adams student says she thought that forsome, college use was a natural reaction to morelimited high school experiences.
"I think it is a natural thing, anexperimentation that comes from students not beingexposed in high school," she says.
A sophomore, also in Adams, agreed that drugeducation in College would not be useful.
"Not at all," she says. "I think it's beenpounded into everyone's brains for so long."