ly, October 3I),1[
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semester
uesday, October 30, 2001
BATTAL
Page 3
Dangerous Addictions
Drug problem on campus is more widespread than many believe
By Kevin Burns
THE BATTALION
ued from h t
issociate dirt
s said the addin
jpled with on-
.rules this semes
o the demanc
, drivers,
s level forever;
ponentially fe
Mathis said,
kson, manaeer
tions, said :
te service hasci
ers. Some 35dm j n S pj te 0 f Texas A&M’s reputation as a predominately conser-
lined this semen; nive university, it cannot escape a problem that exists on virtually
ery college campus: drug abuse.
John, whose name has been changed for anonymity, is a former
uguser and a current A&M student. He smoked marijuana for
e first time when he was 16. John said drug use became a part of
s life at a very young age and escalated rapidly into a full-
:dged addiction.
“The next drug that 1 tried was actually alcohol,” John said,
advantage ofii [hen I went to GHB, or gamma-hydroxybutyrate.”
d format is thati Progressing to the next level, he began to peddle and make his
new driversfe m GHB.
tal nine-day foirJ “Iwent ahead and started making [GHB] and taking it and selling
ntage is that we ■"John said. “That was a pretty big leap, I guess, from smoking weed
drivers mid ffi little bit and drinking, to actually selling and producing drugs.”
leed them." John said he first learned about GHB from his brother and decided
id the shorter ca h try it. His addiction followed him to college and he frequently
ig poses some® xperimented with other drugs, including ecstasy and LSD.
ncluding the la owever, he said the ease and accessibility combined with euphor-
volved in i: :effects made GHB especially appealing,
trainers willine
of a weekend
at a school this size and age population, I am seeing more people
that are using drugs other than alcohol,” Reardon said.
Reardon’s work has been to help people stay off of drugs and
feels the best method is abstinence.
“If they’re using drugs, they’re really making a mistake,”
Reardon said. “I would recommend, even if they’re using marijuana
and even alcohol to an excess, they should talk to somebody about
their use. [Habitual usage] can eventually grow to a problem for
almost anybody. Harder drugs are more difficult to deal with. Plus,
it puts you close to criminal activity.”
Reardon said another reason people should not use drugs is
because there is no way to trust them as products.
“The people that are making the harder drugs and selling them
[are] criminals,” he said. “They really don’t care what happens to
you as long as you give them money.”
Reardon also points out that dealers may use false advertising in
selling to potential buyers.
“Let’s say they try to sell you ecstasy. How do you know it’s
ecstasy? It could be anything. They cut it with anything they’ve got
on said. “We do
sties that say oil*
Irivers are
mistakes until ill
nough to lean:
i semester for tte
ne comfortable
“It was incredible, kind of like a euphoric feeling, but I was still
;ry alert and felt that I was in complete control,” John said. “I was
ist very happy. I was short at the time and I heard it was a growth
ould prefertodoj ormone — it was like the dream drug for me.”
Since considering the financial and mental detriments of drug
.‘sters. I feel cclbuse, John said he decided to stop taking drugs and has been drug-
rivers trained in;* ee for several months,
re as goodastb; “Drugs are expensive and they do damage your brain,” John said,
rough the reel I've seen plenty of older people who excessively use drugs and aren’t
like mentally there — they just aren’t as alert as one should be.’
Also, John said he believes the disease of addiction is a harsh
alky that happens to many people.
“I didn’t want to fall victim to [addiction],” John said. “I figured
was good preventative maintenance just to stop doing [drugs]
comfortabledn ompletely and not put myself at risk. I’ve got better things to do
the traffic. 16 'ithmytime, things that are more productive.”
While this is just one story of a drug reality that continues to
row at A&M, Dr. Dennis Reardon, a licensed drug therapist with
te Department of Student Life, said the problem is more wide-
id training * preadthan one might think,
veral week nic ^Although] there is less drug use here ... than you would expect
n instruction,
he classroom f.
jctio/i offered
• classroom
is conderf
‘The classes
by allowing
) interact wii
Jsired. The driviif|
live since we
; to one student
a versus the
to instructor
nd in a
e. There is
ne.”
AMI V BA I IN • THE BATTALION 1.
to make it go further, and some of it is hazardous materials like
strychnine,” he said.
For Reardon, the bottom line is the issue of legality.
“There are no legitimate sources for illegitimate drugs,” he said.
Many people believe ecstasy, or MDMA is harmless and has few
side effects, but Reardon said the actual damage incurred by the
user proves that is not the case.
“[Drug abuse] is harmful and changes the structure of the brain cell
itself at the most important level,” Reardon said. “[Ecstasy] distorts
the structure and the connection between nuerons and axons. In other
words, things that made sense before will no longer make sense.
Another side effect is one’s body overheating to the point of a heat
stroke, possibly to the point of death.”
Sara, who also wishes to remain anonymous, said her drug life
began during her freshman year at A&M. She said she feels it is
unfair that cigarettes and alcohol are legal while marijuana is not,
and said she has no plans of ending her once-to-twice-a-month habit
despite its illegality.
“Obviously it is a crime because it’s against the law, but I think
it’s healthier than drinking a lot of alcohol and getting drunk —
physically and mentally,” Sara said. “Alcohol will get you drunk,
cigarettes will get you buzzed and marijuana will too — so they are
all in the same genre, as far as what they do to you. I don’t under
stand the legal rationale.”
Sara also said she agrees that usage will affect one’s ability to
function on the job or in everyday circumstances.
“I had a good friend my freshman year — a completely average
guy, doing good in classes, etc. Now he is the biggest druggie I
know,” Sara said. “His grades have completely dropped, and he’s
out of the business school. He smokes a lot, [and] it’s obviously
affecting him.”
In spite of witnessing the toll drugs can take on another’s life,
Sara said she sees a distinction based on character and personal
maturity between a casual user and “druggie.”
“I think it takes mature people to determine what is over the top
and too much,” she said. “It’s the same with alcohol, it can effect
you, and you’ll become an alcoholic. You have to know when too
much is too much.”
Regardless of the justification that marijuana is controllable with
self-restraint and conservative usage, Reardon said this view is a
widely-held misconception.
“Contrary to popular belief, people can get physiologically and
psychologically addicted to marijuana,” Reardon said.
Yet for many drug abusers, this truth is realized too late.
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some SUV’s and trucks slightly higher
WINTERIZE YOUR CAR EARLY i
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MAINTENANCE SERVICE
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Whether by Web or by
phone, are you ready.
V-'v- t vK
A '
,.. to register for classes?
Next week registration for Spring 2002 starts,
and in addition to the phone, you'll also be able
to register over the Web.
That’s right. Besides using your phone, you’ll
be able to use your computer and a Web
browser this semester to search and register for
classes, add and drop fees, and calculate your
tuition for the Spring semester.
But to make sure you’re ready, you’ll want to:
-Know your start date/time. Your registration
start date and time has been sent to your
Neo e-mail account and has also been
posted on screens 801 and 803 of the
BONFIRE system.
-Make sure you're not blocked. You can’t
register (by Web or by phone) if you have
been blocked. Blocks may be checked on
BONFIRE screen 805 or through the
telephone registration system.
-Check the Web registration instructions. Read
up on instructions for using the Web
registration system as well as browser
versions and settings. Instructions are posted
on http://register.tamu.edu/.
If you need more information or have
questions about registration for Spring 2002 (by
Web or by phone), contact the Registration
Help Desk, Monday through Friday, from Sam
to 5pm at (979) 845-4374 during published
registration periods.
ister.tamu.edu/