Breeding ground for chemical dependence or for immunity against substance abuse? <\/p>\n
Dr. Robert DuPont is a strong proponent of an \u201cactive commitment to observing and enforcing the drug and alcohol laws on college campuses, including in college dormitories.\u201d <\/p>\n
According to DuPont, the combination of vulnerable youth in an environment of almost non-existent social controls results in a uniquely threatening setting for substance abuse. Although many colleges and universities are beginning to reconsider their responsibilities with respect to the personal lives of their students, DuPont contends that numerous institutions of higher learning, especially many of \u201cthe most prestigious, continue to hide behind the concept that their students are responsible for their own decisions and behavior.\u201d Moreover, he argues that these colleges and universities \u201ctreat drug and alcohol use as a personal matter, focusing on \u2018responsible choices\u2019 and the distinction between \u2018use\u2019 and \u2018abuse\u201d rather than the inherent dangers to the individual and to society. <\/p>\n
To combat substance abuse in the college environment, DuPont believes that it is necessary to foster and develop a student commitment to lifestyles that reject the usage of what he terms \u201crecreational pharmacology.\u201d He stresses that before this ideology can produce positive behavioral changes, it needs to be \u201crooted in the deep and enduring values of colleges to promote the full physical, intellectual, and spiritual development of students.\u201d DuPont contends that modern scientific research surrounding the processes and effects of drug addiction, and the many tragic drug-related incidents of the past two decades illustrate that the out-dated values of the 1960\u2019s can no longer be accepted or applied to the present-day situation. Leaving drug usage decisions to the individual is no longer intellectually justifiable, and \u201creflects a reckless abdication of the principle of caring for one\u2019s fellow human beings.\u201d Finally, DuPont criticizes some university faculty and administrators for being reluctant to part with the more liberal values of earlier decades. Ironically, he believes that many college students are more willing to accept a less tolerant and more restrictive attitude to drug and alcohol usage than their educators. <\/p>\n
Source: Dr. Robert L. DuPont, Georgetown University Medical School, President, Institute for Behavior and Health, 6191 Executive Blvd., Rockville, Maryland 20852 (301) 468-8980<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Breeding ground for chemical dependence or for immunity against substance abuse? Dr. Robert DuPont is a strong proponent of an \u201cactive commitment to observing and enforcing the drug and alcohol laws on college campuses, including in college dormitories.\u201d According to DuPont, the combination of vulnerable youth in an environment of almost non-existent social controls results […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41,62,61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-drug-use-effects-on-foetus","category-education","category-youth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=747"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}