Pot Smoking Expands Local Minds, Sensible Drugs Policies Result
Imagine a student in this situation: After a hard week of exams and classes, a group of friends decides to smoke a few bowls at their apartment. Suddenly one student seems to be having a bad experience, showing all the signs of becoming an obituary entry very soon. As a witness, there are only a few options for action–let them sleep it off, perhaps permanently, or call the police and risk prosecution (to the fullest extent of the law) for being present and possibly for possession.
Neither of these options is ideal. This situation is what the Florida State University chapter of the Students for Sensible Drug Policy is working to prevent. SSDP is a national organization with a full agenda of harm-reducing campus drug policies that could save lives. The SSDP is currently working to instate a Good Samaritan policy, a form of medical amnesty that enables the individual to call in drug and alcohol related medical emergencies without the fear of penal recourse. With SSDP serving the campus community, in a sensible future, helping a roommate, friend or stranger can be the first option instead of the last.
Recent meetings have featured anything from videos on LSD by National Geographic to documentaries on Marijuana. But it turns out, according to PR Director John Mola, raising LSD awareness or increasing knowledge about the affects of Marijuana is a relatively low priority for the SSDP. They are not simply a pack of druggies gathered to encourage others to join and only set on legalizing habits but are admirably working for the safety of all students, drug users and not.
“We are all about harm reduction,” SSDP president Lauryn Harris said. The SSDP recently held a safety meeting where they taught attendants how to respond to an overdose. “We were aiming to make it into a sort of workshop,” Lauryn stated as she and John then demonstrated the Bacchus Maneuver, a technique for positioning an unconscious person safely. “Okay, I think this leg goes here, arm up. . . and then turn them over,” John spoke as he tooled around with the maneuver. With a tug on the arm, Lauryn rolled onto her side, safely.
Both John and Lauren passionately stated that students on campus have the authority to set drug policy and agenda but disappointedly remarked that there is not enough emergency help advertisement.
Lauren enthusiastically relayed that FSU SSDP chapter is always active, such as with Recognition and Response, an Overdose Prevention Meeting. She recounted, “We have met directly with Healthy Campus Committee about setting drug policy on campus.” They have hosted guests such as a First Responder from Thagard Health Center, who came and physically showed students how to help someone and how to recognize an overdose: something as simple as pinching a fingernail and seeing if it turns pink-white-pink, flicking their nose to incite a response, or checking for clammy skin.
SSDP feels such knowledge is essential for all students. Regardless of habits or clique’s, it is not uncommon to experience a drug-related emergency situation at least once in college. Whether with alcohol or an illegal substance, all students need to be educated in order to be comfortable helping someone in danger in order to prevent overdoses. Being a top ten party school has its responsibilities! Member Brennan Paedae openly declared, “It is the prohibition of drugs is what makes them more dangerous.”
Among informing students how to respond in drug-related emergencies, SSDP member Brennan Paedae, insisted that SSDP plays an active role in the drug-war as well, working with FSU’s NORML chapter on the petition to decriminalize marijuana in Tallahassee, but felt that NORML was more of a community-type organization and SSDP, activist, here at Florida State.
“It’s also really important to get the right message out. A good policy doesn’t help if no one knows about it,” John Mola said, finalizing the interview, “Safety is our number one policy over punishing, getting more people to call for help.”
Interested in joining SSDP or just want more information? Check out their Facebook Group or website for weekly meeting times, information, and events.
Originally featured in the April 2010 print issue.
