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News

Drug use patterns puzzling

Campus experts, students view drug problem differently

by ZACH HAVERKAMP
The Daily Cougar

UH on DRUGS: This is the third in a series of articles addressing drug and alcohol use on campus. Check back Thursday for information about student drug use.

Officials at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center and students disagree on how common alcohol or drug use is among the student population. Both groups agree that trends in substance abuse can be attributed to a student's history of drug use just as much as exposure to drugs or alcohol at UH.

"National trends are showing that students in junior high and high school are starting to experiment earlier," Gaylyn Maurer, a counselor at the Rec Center, said.

HISD and surrounding school districts are no exception to national trends, according to students who attended grade school in the Houston area.

"I did all kinds of stuff, especially in high school," a 20-year-old marketing freshman, who wanted to remain anonymous, said. "Back at (Bellaire) high school, (drug use) is rampant. (There is) rampant (use of) cocaine and methamphetamine. Pot was used by everybody and their mother. Any kind of uppers, downers, sideways pills, anything."

Though surveys of student drug or alcohol use at UH have not been conducted recently, students said they have observed more drug abuse among young freshmen than other segments of the student population.

"I've seen lots of freshmen (using drugs)," business freshman Dwayne Guffman said. "Out on their own, it's easy to get ... especially on campus. There's obviously a demand for it (at UH) because there are younger people -- thousands of us."

Though UH is located in a city with a notorious reputation for drug use and trafficking, the perception that drug use is common at the University is incorrect, Gail Gillan, Rec Center director, said.

"We are a large urban area. Whatever drugs are happening across the country, we are going to see them up close and personal over here," Gillan said. "But I can tell you that with every drug there is probably a higher use in the suburbs and the rural areas than in downtown Houston. So yes, we are going to see here a microcosm of all drug use because we're an urban center. But numbers versus percentage per capita are really different." 
 

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