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Policy on the Possession, Dealing and Misuse of Drugs
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The Legal Position

The possession and supply of controlled drugs (Drug Classes A, B and C) are criminal offences. Examples of drugs in the three classes include:

It is a criminal offence:

The College is required to inform the police in cases of possession of Class A drugs or cases of dealing involving any controlled drugs. The consequences can be very severe and long-lasting if a student is charged and convicted of a drugs offence since he or she will have a criminal record.

The College

The College will also invoke its own disciplinary procedures in the case of possession of any controlled drugs, with potential consequences for future residence or even study in the College and University.

In short, there is great personal and legal risk to any student who is using and/or dealing in controlled drugs.

Health and Harms

The College takes very seriously its duty of care to its students. We will seek to provide medical and counselling support for any student involved with or concerned about drugs or drug taking, whether the drugs are illegal or legal. The College Nurse, Tutors and Chaplain are always ready to give confidential help or advice to any student.

It is most important that students also understand that the persistent use and abuse of illegal or legal drugs are associated with significant harms. The legal classification of drugs is poorly related to the potential damage to health that they can cause.

Alcohol is an addictive drug and there is strong evidence that abuse of alcohol and alcohol dependence may stem from drinking in order to relieve stress, anxiety and depressive thoughts ? each of which is not uncommon among a student population, and for all of which help is available. Alcohol also causes behavioural disinhibition, which can cause aggression and can also put intoxicated individuals at risk of aggression and sexual assault by others. Alcohol abuse also results in damage to the liver (and this is now being seen quite frequently in people under 30), cardiovascular disease, some forms of cancer (e.g. of the throat, larynx, breast and bowel) and brain damage.

The College recognises that alcohol plays a major part in the social life of many students. However, we wish to encourage students who choose to drink alcohol to do so carefully and not to abuse it. There is special concern about the extent of binge drinking, not just because of the disinhibition and social disruption it can cause both within and outside the College, but also because of the very real harm it does to health. Repeated binge intoxication necessarily brings with it repeated episodes of withdrawal (a hangover) and it is now clear that this brings with it an increased likelihood of damage to the brain.

There is a growing availability of other drugs about which little is known in terms of their harms. Cognitive Enhancers, such as Modafinil, and ‘Legal Highs’, such as Mephedrone, are readily available over the internet. There has been recent publicity about the use of Modafenil to enhance attention and alertness, but effects of repeated dosing are poorly understood and it is most likely to have negative consequences. Mephedrone (‘meow meow’) and other so-called ‘plant foods’ are rarely pure and already are being linked to serious health harms, including amphetamine-like overdosing symptoms. Never purchase drugs over the internet; it is impossible to know whether the drug is pure or whether it has been adulterated with some other substance. Neither is it possible to know what harms to health such drugs bring following repeated dosing.

Addiction

None of us knows whether we will become addicted to the drugs that we use, whether legal or illegal. A key sign, which may not be as easy to recognise as you think, is the gradual increase in and progressive loss of control over use. This loss of control (i.e. addiction) is most easily recognised in smokers, who persist in smoking despite the certain risk of respiratory, lung and cardiovascular disease and the social isolation it now brings. It is much more difficult to recognise and acknowledge loss of control over alcohol. If you feel that you are drinking more than you intended or using any drug in a way that is difficult to control, it is very important that you seek help within or outside the College at the earliest opportunity. It is possible to help people stop problem drug use at an early stage, but that help is much less effective when drug use, including drinking, is out of control.

Click on any of the links below for further advice and support.


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Last updated: March 2010