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Show Student panel gives false drug picture Are a large number of students at the University drug users? Early last month a panel of five students appearing before he General Practice Review at the University Medical Center estimated that 40 to 50 per cent of University students used drugs, mostly marijuana, either occasionally or regularly. The panel spoke following a speech by Dr. Fred Koloucn, Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Kolouch said he was presenting five "hippies" to give their views on drug use. The estimate was not disputed by either panel members or physicians present, including some from the University. But compared to statistics presented in a drug study by the Office of Institutional Studies and those from Dr. George Edison, head of the Student Health Center, the panel's estimate is high. Dr Eidson placed the number of drug users at between 15 and 2U per cent. He based this figure on the results of a drug questional taken last spring. Conflict of Estimates Drug users placed estimates of student drug abuse higher than non-users answering the questionaire, Dr. Edison said. "The users placed estimates from five per cent all the way up to 70 per cent, while the non-users felt only about 10 per cent of the studentbody took drugs." A drug study made by Dr. Claude Grant, Office of Institutional Studies, also indicates that drug use among students is well below the 40 to 50 per cent mark. Sent Randomly Questionaires were sent to 986 students whose names were drawn randomly from six groups: unafilliated, special interest organizations (political organizations, ski club, soccer club), social organizations (fraternities and sororities), academic organizations (honorary clubs, department clubs), religious organizations, (Newman Club, Lambda Delt Sigma), and third quarter freshmen. One question asked, "have you used drug?" Drugs were divided into five categories: narcotics, barbituates, pep pills, LSD and marijuana. Of the 746 students who responded, one student reported frequent use of narcotics, two reported occasional use and 27 claimed to be occasional users. The three groups totaled less than five per cent of those responding. Frequented Barbituates Three students indicated frequent use of barbituates, nine 1 occasional use and 26 rare use, a total of 5.2 per cent. Nine reported frequent use of pep pills, 46 occasional use and 68 rare use. The percentage total here was 16.4. None of the students surveyed reported frequent use of LSD. Six did report occasional use, and another 15 admitted to being rare users, totally 2.9 per cent. The study showed that 14.2 per cent of the students responding used marijuana to some degree. 21 students indicated frequent use, 27 occasional use and 57 rare use. |