Alcohol and Other Drugs
LaGrange College prohibits the possession, distribution and use of alcohol or illegal drugs.
As members of the College community, we recognize that we have an obligation to examine critically the issues surrounding drug and alcohol abuse on campuses, to provide appropriate institutional responses, and to promote responsible personal decisions. Community members have the right to live, work, learn and study in an environment free from the damaging effects of drug and alcohol abuse. To this end, LaGrange College sponsors a variety of programs and provides information and resources regarding drug and alcohol abuse. In addition, the College’s policies for faculty, staff and students are consistent with federal and local law and reinforce the belief that people are accountable for their own actions. The College’s procedure for alcohol and drug infractions is listed in the Social Code policy. This section is provided to give the student information to make an informed choice about alcohol and drug use.
Health Risks Associated with Substance Abuse
This section summarizes the health risks associated with drug and alcohol abuse and resources for addressing drug and alcohol abuse.
Caffeine, alcohol and tobacco are commonly used drugs. Although some are regulated, they are not per se illegal. It is important to realize that for some people, even these legal drugs taken in moderation can produce serious health risks, and under certain circumstances, these drugs can prove as insidious and damaging as some illegal substances.
Some illicit drugs and controlled substances have valid pharmaceutical uses. When properly administered by a physician their effect can be beneficial, yet, as with the licit drugs mentioned above, these same drugs can also prove damaging. Other substances, such as inhalants and analogs, have no legitimate claim to healing. Their use is by definition abuse, and the results are unpredictable and sometimes fatal.
Regardless of the licit or illicit status of a substance, abusing drugs is never beneficial physically, socially, psychologically, or economically. The following discussion provides a listing of common drugs and substances along with the associated physical and psychological and effects and risks. Keep in mind that the effects and risks may vary depending upon dosage, frequency of use, duration of use combination with other substances, as well as the age, sex and health of the person.
Physical Health Risks
Depressants (Quaaludes, barbiturates, tranquillizers, and alcohol)
Health Risks: General - depression of the central nervous system, slow response time, loss of rational judgment, decreased coordination and motor skills, death. These drugs are particularly dangerous when combined.
Health Risks: Alcohol - Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, metabolic changes (e.g. hypoglycemia, elevated triglycerides), cancer of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, and liver, heart disease, nervous system damage, gastrointestinal disorder (e.g. peptic ulcers, pancreatitis, gastritis), liver damage (e.g. alcoholic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and fat accumulations), death from overdose (2,000 per year in U.S.), blackouts, accidental injuries, anemia.
Narcotics (heroin, methadone, codeine, morphine, meperidine, opium, and other)
Health Risks: General - nausea, vomiting, convulsion, coma, possible death. The use of contaminated syringes may result in disease such as HIV, endocarditis and hepatitis. Addiction during pregnancy can lead to premature, stillborn or addicted infants.
Stimulants (caffeine as found in coffee, tea, soft drinks, diet and caffeine pills; cocaine; crack; amphetamines such as Benzedrine, Dexedrine, methadrine – speed)
Health Risks: Caffeine - increased motor activity, diminishes small muscle coordination and timing, insomnia or restlessness and disturbed sleep, in-creased basal metabolic rate, increased urination, premature systoles, heat palpitation, tachycardia, gastrointestinal irritation, ulcers, diarrhea, constipation (from high tannin content of tea) mild delirium, auditory and visual disturbances.
Health Risks: Cocaine - (highly addictive) elevated blood pressure, increased temperature, nosebleeds, erosion of the nasal septum, paranoia, nervousness, insomnia, malnutrition, tactile hallucinations, seizures, convulsions, death from effect on cardiac function and respiration.
Health Risks: Crack - (highly addictive) dilated pupils, increased pulse rate, elevated blood pressure, insomnia, loss of appetite, tactile hallucination, paranoia, seizures, agitation, increased temperature, convulsions, possible death from cardiac arrest.
Health Risks: Amphetamine – elevated blood pressure, nervousness, hyperactivity, insomnia, malnutrition, acute psychoses.
Hallucinogens (phencyclidine - PCP, lysergic acid diethylamide -LSD, mescaline-peyote, psilocybin – mushrooms, marijuana).
Health Risks: PCP - unexpected psychotic episodes, perceptual distortions, sense of estrangement, poor muscular coordination, impaired speech, long term persistent memory
Health Risks: LSD - peyote mushrooms – illusions, hallucination, increased temperature and heart rate, elevated blood pressure, loss of appetite, insomnia, tremors, panic, confusion, and speech impairments, depression, anxiety, violent behavior, hallucination, coma, heart failure, lung problems, ruptured blood vessels in the brain, death. paranoia, loss of control, long term persistent flash backs, psychosis, dementia.
Health Risks: Marijuana - perceptual distortion of time, increased heart rate, dilation of blood vessels, loss of short term memory, impaired comprehension, decreased visual perception and psychomotor skills, loss of motivation, fatigue, chronic bronchitis, decreased vital lung capacity, lung cancer, paranoia, psychosis.
Inhalants (nitrous oxide, amyl nitrate, butyl nitrite, chlorohydrocarbons, hydro-carbons-found in aerosol sprays, solvents, chemicals, and gasoline).
Health Risks: General - Nausea, sneezing, coughing, nose bleeds, fatigue, lack of coordination, loss of appetite, decreased heart and respiratory rates, impaired judgment, violent behavior, disorientation, rapid pulse, headaches, incontinence, hepatitis, renal and hepatic damage, peripheral neuropathy, convulsions, encephalopathy, cardiac arrhythmia, ataxia, chorea, tremors, organic lead encephalopathy, myopathy, brain hemorrhage, unconsciousness, and death from asphyxiation.
Designer Drugs or Analogs (synthetic chemical modification of older drugs, sometimes several hundred to several thousand times stronger than the drugs they are designed to imitate.)
Health Risks: General – depression, anxiety, paranoia, illusions, hallucinations, impaired perception, tremors, drooling, impaired speech, paralysis, irreversible brain damage, and death.
Smoking (cigarette smoking in particular, cigar and pipe smoking to a lesser extent.)
Health Risks: General - Nausea, vomiting, peripheral vasoconstriction, tachycardia, elevated blood pressure, increased risk of heart disease as well as chronic bronchitis and emphysema, decreased life expectancy, increased potential for serious adverse effects in women taking oral contraceptives, lung cancer and other cancers (mouth, larynx, esophagus, bladder, pancreas, kidney). When used during pregnancy: premature and low birth weight babies, increased risk of miscarriage and still birth, hyperirritability, and hyperkinesia in infants.
Early recognition and treatment of alcohol and drug abuse are important for successful rehabilitation and reduced personal, family and social disruption. The College encourages and supports the earliest possible diagnosis and treatment for substance abuse. Whenever feasible, the College will assist students in overcoming alcohol and drug abuse. However, the decision to seek diagnosis and accept treatment for any problem remains primarily the individual’s responsibility.
Counseling/Treatment Resources
A number of counseling and treatment options are available to students at LaGrange College. All counseling is confidential (except as otherwise required by law in cases of child abuse or when the person presents a clear and present danger to him/herself or others). Students are encouraged to seek counseling and/or treatment in dealing with personal issues of substance abuse relating to themselves, their friends or their families. Specific counseling and/or treatment may be required of students as a result of conduct concerns or proceedings.
The following is a list of available counseling treatment resources:
Counseling Center: Individual and small group counseling sessions are available depending upon the specific needs of the students. Referrals are made to off-campus provider when the individual requires long-term or specialized assistance beyond the scope of the center staff. For more information or an appointment, call 706-880-8117.
Spiritual Life: Clergy is available for personal counseling and may refer students to other resources as appropriate. For information or for an appointment, call 706-880-8004.
For additional resources on drug education contact: The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Information Line at 1-800-622-2255 or the National Institute on Drug Abuse Hotline at 1-800-662-4357.
Programs
Programs offered through the Enrollment Management & Student Experience Office and other units focus on education, wellness, prevention and personal choice. Workshops and seminars are provided within the residence halls, as a part of First Week, during National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week, and Drug Awareness Week, through Greek organizations and throughout the year on an ad hoc basis.
How the College Views Alcohol and Drug Abuse
The use of alcohol and other drugs can have a negative impact on judgments and reactions, health and safety, but may lead to legal complications as well. Even more basic is the stance that drugs and alcohol have no place on this campus among our students.
The College’s Role
The College’s principle role is to engage in education, which leads to high standards and respectful conduct. When those are compromised, it will act against individuals or organizations violating rules regarding alcohol and against individuals violating either the law or College policy concerning alcohol. The College will deal severely with students convicted of the illegal possession, use, or sale of drugs.
What the College Community can do to prevent alcohol and drug abuse
Students can help control substance abuse by declining to use or condone the use of drugs and by insisting that organizations and individuals use alcohol within the law and adhere to College policy. Students should make an effort to prevent persons who have abused alcohol or used drugs from harming themselves or others, especially when driving a motor vehicle, and should encourage those needing professional help to seek it.
The same standards and regulations apply with equal force to members of the faculty, staff and administration.
Parental Notification
The college reserves the right to notify parents of students under the age of 21 who violate rules governing alcohol/drug use at LaGrange College.
Drinking Age Laws
Georgia State Statute 3-3-23 makes it unlawful for any person under the age of 21 years to have in his or her possession alcoholic beverages; to sell, give, serve or permit to be served alcoholic beverages to a person under 21 years of age or to permit a person under 21 years of age to consume said beverages on the premises; to misrepresent or misstate his or her age or any other person for the purpose of inducing any licensee or his agents or employees to sell, give, serve or deliver any alcoholic beverages to a person under 21 years of age.
Drug Policy
The College does not condone the possession, consumption, ingestion, injection, or inhalation (without prescription or medical authorization) of substances that have the capacity to change a person’s mood, behavior, or mind, or modify and relieve pain, such as, but not limited to marijuana, opiates, amphetamines, barbiturates, hallucinogens, psychedelics, or solvents. Any student found to be in conflict with the above or local, state, and federal narcotics laws, will be referred to the Vice President for Enrollment Management & Student Services, who will initiate the college’s disciplinary process. The sanction may result in separation from the College. Disciplinary action against a student under College rules does not preclude the possibility of criminal charges against that individual. Similarly, the filing of criminal charges does not preclude action by the College.
The use of illegal drugs and the misuse of prescription and other drugs pose a serious threat to the physical and mental wellbeing of students, faculty, staff, visitors and guests of the College. The College is committed to providing accurate information and educational programs to prevent such use of drugs. If further information is required about these programs, services, and the assistance available at the College. Please contact the Counseling Center, Spiritual Life or any Enrollment Management & Student Experience Staff.
Drug Testing Policy
Given grounds for reasonable suspicion, the College reserves the right to require any student to undergo drug testing, the cost to be borne by the student.