Plea for war on drugs

DRUGS and alcohol pose serious risks for universities in the 1990s and must be tackled more effectively, student managers have warned.

While recent surveys have found widespread drug use in universities and colleges, few institutions have policies for dealing with it. Most of the policies which do exist focus on disciplinary procedures rather than on understanding the problem. Turning a blind eye can leave institutions open to prosecution. It is an offence knowingly to allow people to smoke cannabis or supply controlled drugs on university premises.

New guidelines from the Association of Managers of Student Services in Higher Education, in partnership with the Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals and the Standing Conference of Principals, attempt to address these issues. They will be discussed at a conference of student managers next month, to be addressed by Keith Hellawell, the chief constable of West Yorkshire.

A survey by staff at Newcastle University into the use of alcohol and cannabis and other illegal drugs by 3,075 second-year students from ten UK universities found 20 per cent reported regular use of cannabis and 33 per cent had experience with other illegal drugs.

A handful of higher education institutions have reported increasing concern from parents of prospective students about the relative safety of halls of residence.

Iain MacArthur, head of student services at AMOSSHE said: "We aren't saying that alcohol or drug misuse is necessarily any higher in HE than any other sector, but the student population reflects what is going on in the population at large. Hardly a day goes by when there is not some incident at a university related to alcohol or other substances and institutions need coherent ways of dealing with this."

Unpublished research last year at a large metropolitan university among students under 22 found they wanted a more positive stance on drugs from staff and the students' union. Drug users wanted helplines and counselling services and a focus on risks, all better directed to a student audience.

The new guidelines suggest accurate and realistic information about potential hazards of drug use should be distributed among staff and students. It should concentrate on giving the facts, as well as pointing out the legal risks.

Students should be consulted about how to communicate information about drugs and be made aware of support services.

Institutions should also introduce clear and consistent procedures for supporting people with drug or drink problems and try to ensure they can return to study or work after getting treatment.