The Network Addressing Collegiate Alcohol and Other Drug Issues

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Back at the end of 2010, the much heralded announcement came that the DEA was banning the chemicals found to be giving “Spice” and other herbal smokes their marijuana-like properties. Thus, it was expected that the herbal smokes would fall into the nether regions of the drug world and disappear from the internet and smoke shops of the U.S..

But a quick Google search or stroll to a local strip mall will provide ample evidence that herbal smokes are alive and well. Indeed, campuses are reporting that synthetic marijuana is showing up in a substantial number of student conduct issues. Further, the Monitoring The Future project (Johnston, O’Malley, Bachman, & Schulenberg, 2011) reports that synthetic marijuana was the third

In California, an 18-year old caught holding a can of beer faces a far more severe punishment (misdemeanor charges and $250 fine) than if caught holding a month’s supply of marijuana (1 oz; infraction and $100 fine). Still there is some indication that young people are trying to avoid even that penalty by getting their medical marijuana recommendations from the sketchy cast of doctors advertising two-for-one specials on exams. There are no reliable studies on how prevalent medical marijuana recommendations are, or how often they are obtained for conditions that are either exaggerated or faked (Reinarman et al., 2011); however anecdotal evidence implies that it is rather common, at least among the marijuana using population.

But with the current federal crackdown on marijuana dispensaries, we are left to wonder how relevant medical marijuana is to our general student marijuana use issue. After all, almost all of the

The NASPA AOD Knowledge Community is co-sponsoring with the Higher Education Knowledge Community a free dial-in event titled Maintaining and Thriving: A Dial-in Conference Sharing Ideas for Supporting Students in Recovery on Wednesday August 8, 2012 from 12-1 PM PDT.  Below is information from their announcement:

Although transitioning to college and maintaining a healthy lifestyle can be a challenge for any student, students who identify as being in recovery may encounter unique obstacles as they navigate the college terrain. This dial-in conference will give you an opportunity to hear what your colleagues are doing to support students (and staff/faculty) in recovery. Following a brief presentation by Dr. Robert Reff, Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator, Oregon State University, we will open the floor for you to share your ideas. How does your campus support students in recovery? Challenges? Successes?

We hope you can join us for this lively and topical call and are prepared to share!

To register, go to https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/325179618