Student Addiction Policy

Information for Students: Illicit Drugs and Alcohol Abuse

• I. Standards of Conduct

  Hoop Policy 186 – Student Conduct and Discipline

  All students are required to obey federal, state, and local laws and to comply with the University of Texas System (“UT System”) Board of Regents' Rules and Regulations, the rules and regulations of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston ("university"), and directives issued by administrative officials of the university or UT System in the course of their authorized duties. Students are also required to obey standards of conduct appropriate for an academic institution.

  Any student who engages in conduct that violates the Regents' Rules and Regulations, university or UT System rules, or federal, state, or local laws is subject to disciplinary action whether the conduct takes place on or off university property and whether or not civil or criminal penalties may be imposed for such conduct. A student is also subject to disciplinary action for prohibited conduct that occurs while participating in any activities sponsored by the university or UT System, including, but not limited to, field trips, study abroad programs, inter- and/or intramural athletic activities, student organizations registered with the university, and laboratory and other rotations or clinical assignments, whether on or off university property.

  Hoop Policy 186 – Appendix A – Unacceptable Conduct

  Illegally using, possessing, or selling a drug or narcotic on campus (also refer to HOOP 9 - Alcoholic Beverages, HOOP 163 - Fitness for Participation (Students) and HOOP 173 - Substance Abuse.

• II. University Penalties

  Please refer to Hoop Policy 186 – Appendix B for current university penalties

• Criminal Penalties Under Texas Law

  Offense
  Manufacture or delivery of Controlled substances (drugs) (varies based on amount and type of drug)

  Minimum Punishment:
  Confinement in jail for a term of not more than 2 years or less than 180 days, and a fine not to exceed $10,000

  Maximum Punishment:
  Imprisonment for life or for a term of not more than 99 years nor less than 15 years, and a fine not to exceed $250,000

  Offense
  Possession of controlled substances (drugs) (varies based on amount and type of drug)

  Minimum Punishment:
  Confinement in jail for a term of not more than 180 days, a fine not to exceed $2,000, or both

  Maximum Punishment:
  Imprisonment for life or for a term of not more than 99 years nor less than 15 years, and a fine not to exceed $250,000

  Offense
  Delivery of marijuana (varies by amount)

  Minimum Punishment:
  Confinement in jail for a term not more than 180 days, a fine not to exceed $2,000, or both

  Maximum Punishment:
  Imprisonment for life or for a term of not more than 99 years nor less than 10 years, and a fine not to exceed $100,000

  Offense
  Possession of marijuana (varies by amount)

  Minimum Punishment:
  Confinement in jail for a term not more than 180 days, a fine not to exceed $2,000, or both

  Maximum Punishment:
  Imprisonment for life or for a term of not more than 99 years nor less than 5 years, and a fine not to exceed $50,000

  Offense
  Driving while intoxicated (includes intoxication from alcohol, drugs, or both)

  Minimum Punishment:
  Confinement in jail for a term of not more than 180 days nor less than 72 hours, a fine of not more than $2,000, and possible driver’s license suspension for 90 days to one year

  Maximum Punishment:
  Imprisonment for a term of not more than 10 years nor less than 2 years, and a fine not to exceed $10,000

  Offense
  Public intoxication

  Minimum Punishment:
  A fine not to exceed $500

  Maximum Punishment:
  Varies with age and number of offenses

  Offense
  Purchase of alcohol by a minor

  Minimum Punishment:
  A fine not to exceed $500

  Maximum Punishment:
  Varies with age and number of offenses

  Offense
  Consumption or possession of alcohol by a minor

  Minimum Punishment:
  A fine not to exceed $500

  Maximum Punishment:
  Varies with age and number of offenses

  Offense
  Sale of alcohol to a minor

  Minimum Punishment:
  A fine not to exceed $4000 or confinement in jail for not more than one year, or both

  Maximum Punishment:
  A fine not to exceed $4000 or confinement in jail for not more than one year, or both

  Penalties shown above are based on language contained in applicable Texas statutes and are subject to change at any time by the Legislature and the Governor.

• IV. Health Risks of Alcohol and Drugs

  Alcohol

  Drinking too much on a single occasion or over time can take a serious toll on a person’s health. Overdoses of alcohol can result in respiratory arrest and death. Prolonged alcohol abuse can cause bleeding from the intestinal tract, damage to nerves and the brain, psychotic behavior, loss of memory and coordination, impotence, and damage to the bone marrow, testes, ovaries, and muscles. Damage to the nerves and organs is usually irreversible.

  Alcohol interferes with the brain’s communication pathways, and can affect the way the brain looks and works. These disruptions can change mood and behavior, and make it harder to think clearly and move with coordination. Drinking a lot over a long time or too much on a single occasion can damage the heart, causing problems such as cardiomyopathy (stretching and drooping of heart muscle), arrhythmias, (irregular heart beat), stroke, and high blood pressure. Heavy drinking takes a toll on the liver, and can lead to a variety of problems and liver inflammations including, steatosis, or fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis, fibrosis, and cirrhosis. Alcohol causes the pancreas to produce toxic substances that can eventually lead to pancreatitis, a dangerous inflammation and swelling of the blood vessels in the pancreas that prevents proper digestion. Drinking too much alcohol can increase your risk of developing certain cancers, including cancers of the mouth, esophagus, throat, breast, and liver. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in alcoholics and is 10 times more frequent than in non-alcoholics.

  Drinking too much can weaken your immune system, making your body a much easier target for disease. Chronic drinkers are more liable to contract diseases like pneumonia and tuberculosis than people who do not drink too much. Drinking a lot on a single occasion slows your body’s ability to ward off infections – even up to 24 hours after getting drunk. Drinking during pregnancy can cause fetal alcohol syndrome.

  Drugs

  The use of illicit drugs usually causes the same general type of physiological and mental changes as alcohol, though frequently those changes are more severe and more sudden. Death or coma resulting from overdose of drugs is more frequent than from alcohol. Commonly abused drugs and their detrimental effects on the human body are found below

  Amphetamines

  Patterns of use and associated effects are similar to cocaine (described below). Severe intoxication may produce confusion, rambling or incoherent speech, anxiety, psychotic behavior, ringing in the ears, hallucinations, and irreversible brain damage. Intense fatigue and depression resulting from use can lead to severe depression. Large doses may result in convulsions and death from cardiac or respiratory arrest.

  Cocaine

  Cocaine is a stimulant that is most commonly inhaled as a powder. It can be dissolved in water and used intravenously. The cocaine extract (crack) is smoked. Users can progress from infrequent use to dependence within a few weeks or months. Psychological and behavioral changes resulting from use include overstimulation, hallucinations, irritability, sexual dysfunction, psychotic behavior, social isolation, and memory problems. An overdose produces convulsions and delirium and may result in death from cardiac arrest. Discontinuing the use of cocaine requires considerable assistance, close supervision and treatment.

  Hallucinogens and Dissociative Drugs

  These drugs have street names like acid, angel dust, and vitamin K. They distort the way a user perceives time, motion, colors, sounds, and self. These drugs can disrupt a person’s ability to think and communicate rationally, or even to recognize reality, sometimes resulting in bizarre or dangerous behavior. Hallucinogens such as LSD, psilocybin, peyote, DMT, and ayahuasca cause emotions to swing wildly and real-world sensations to appear unreal, sometimes frightening. Dissociative drugs like PCP, ketamine, dextromethorphan, and Salvia divinorum may make a user feel out of control and disconnected from their body and environment. In addition to their short-term effects on perception and mood, hallucinogenic drugs are associated with psychotic-like episodes that can occur long after a person has taken the drug, and dissociative drugs can cause respiratory depression, heart rate abnormalities, and a withdrawal syndrome.

  Heroin and other opiates

  These drugs are usually taken intravenously. In addition to the adverse effects associated with the use of a specific drug, intravenous drug users who use unsterilized needles or who share needles with other drug users can develop HIV, hepatitis, tetanus (lock jaw), and infections in the heart. Long-term use of heroin and other opiates could result in collapsed veins, abscesses (swollen tissue with pus), infection of the lining and valves in the heart, constipation and stomach cramps, liver or kidney disease, and pneumonia. Addiction and dependence develop rapidly. Use is characterized by impaired judgment, slurred speech, and drowsiness. Overdose is manifested by coma, shock, and depressed respiration, with the possibility of death from respiratory arrest. Withdrawal problems include sweating, diarrhea, fever, insomnia, irritability, nausea and vomiting, and muscle and joint pains.

  Inhalants

  Examples include solvents, aerosols, and gases found in household products such as spray paints, markers, glues, and cleaning fluids as well as nitrites (e.g., amyl nitrite), which are prescription medications for chest pain. Short-term effects include confusion, nausea, slurred speech, lack of coordination, euphoria, dizziness, drowsiness, disinhibition, lightheadedness, hallucinations/delusions, headaches, sudden sniffing death due to heart failure (from butane, propane, and other chemicals in aerosols), death from asphyxiation, suffocation, convulsions or seizures, coma, or choking. Effects from abusing nitrites include enlarged blood vessels, increased heart rate, brief sensation of heat and excitement, dizziness, and headache. Long-term effects from solvent abuse include liver and kidney damage, bone marrow damage, limb spasms due to nerve damage, and brain damage from lack of oxygen that can cause problems with thinking, movement, vision, and hearing.

  Marijuana (Cannabis)

  Marijuana is usually smoked/inhaled. Marijuana abuse can cause mental health problems such as anxiety, panic attacks, and psychosis. Some physical health issues include chronic cough, frequent respiratory infections, disconnected ideas or problems with learning and memory, alteration of depth perception and sense of time, impaired judgment, slowed reaction time and problems with balance and coordination. Prolonged use can lead to psychological dependence.

  MDMA (Molly, Ecstasy)

  These amphetamine-based hallucinogens are sold in powder, tablet, or capsule form and can be inhaled, injected, or swallowed. They cause similar, but usually milder, hallucinogenic effects than those of LSD. Because they are amphetamines, tolerance can develop quickly and overdose can happen. Exhaustion and possible liver damage can occur with heavy use. In high doses, these drugs can cause anxiety, paranoia and delusions. While rare, these drugs have been associated with deaths in users with known or previously undiagnosed heart conditions.

  Methamphetamines

  An extremely addictive stimulant amphetamine drug. Short-term concerns with use include increased wakefulness and physical activity, decreased appetite, increased breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, and temperature, and irregular heartbeat. Long-term effects from use include anxiety, confusion, insomnia, mood problems, violent behavior, paranoia, hallucinations, delusions, weight loss, severe dental problems (“meth mouth”), and intense itching leading to skin sores from scratching.

  Rhohypnol (rophies, roofies, rope)

  This drug is in the same category of drugs as Valium and XanaX, a benzodiazepine, but has higher potency. Initially, it causes a sense of relaxation and reduction of anxiety. At higher doses, light-headedness, dizziness, lack of coordination and slurred speech occur. The drug affects memory and, in higher doses or if mixed with other drugs or alcohol, can result in amnesia for the time period the user is under the influence. Because of this amnesia effect, Rhohypnol has been given intentionally to others to facilitate sexual assault and other crimes. Combining this drug with other sedating drugs, including alcohol, will increase the intensity of all effects of the drug and, in sufficient doses, can cause respiratory arrest and death. Dependency can occur.

  Steroids

  Man-made substances used to treat conditions caused by low levels of steroid hormones in the body and abused to enhance athletic and sexual performance as well as physical appearance. Use of anabolic steroids could result in kidney damage or failure, liver damage, high blood pressure, enlarged heart, or changes in cholesterol leading to increased risk of stroke or heart attack, aggression, extreme mood swings, anger (“roid rage”), paranoid jealousy, extreme irritability, delusions, and impaired judgment. Other health-related issues for males include shrunken testicles, lowered sperm count, infertility, baldness, development of breasts, and increased risk for prostate cancer. For females, additional concerns include the development of facial hair, male-pattern baldness, menstrual cycle changes, and deepened voice.

  Synthetic Cannabinoids

  A wide variety of herbal mixtures containing man-made cannabinoid chemicals related to THC in marijuana but often much stronger and more dangerous. Sometimes misleadingly called “synthetic marijuana” and marketed as a natural, safe and legal alternative to marijuana. Effects from use include increased heart rate, vomiting, agitation, confusion, hallucinations, anxiety, paranoia, increased blood pressure and reduced blood supply to the heart, as well as heart attack. Withdrawal symptoms include headaches, anxiety, depression, and irritability.

  Tobacco

  Products include cigars, cigarettes, hookahs, and smokeless tobacco products. Using tobacco products greatly increases risk of cancer, especially lung cancer when smoked and oral cancers when chewed. Additional health concerns include chronic bronchitis, emphysema, heart disease, leukemia, cataracts, and pneumonia.

• Counseling, Prevention and Rehabilitation Programs/Services

  University students are encouraged to obtain assistance for the treatment of chemical dependence and substance use/abuse. Such assistance may be provided through UT Student Counseling, private physicians or community agencies with expertise in treating chemical dependence.

  UT Student Counseling
  Emergency Crisis Hotline
  Crisis Line for student and someone needs help call 713-500-4688 (available 24 hours a day)
  For information or to make an appointment, contact: 713-500-5171 (8am - 5pm)
  https://www.uth.edu/studenthealth/student-counseling-services/

  UT System Smoking Cessation Resources
  https://www.utsystem.edu/offices/employee-benefits/living-well/be-healthy/tobacco-cessation

  The Council (on Recovery)
  Phone: 713-942-4100 or 1-855-942-4100 (toll free)
  https://www.councilonrecovery.org/

  Fort Bend Regional Council on Substance Abuse, Inc.
  Phone: 281-207-2400
  https://www.fortbendcouncil.org//

  Tri-County Services (Montgomery County Mental Health Services)
  Phone: 936-521-6300 or 1-800-550-8408
  https://tcbhc.org/

  Applications to Fight Addiction

  iQuit on App Store
  Makes a smoker wanting to quit wait longer between each smoke until they are gradually able to quit. Charts and gives results of time between each smoke.

  iPromise
  Organizes appointments and sets meeting reminders for AA. Allows individuals to keep a visual journal of their emotions and feelings.

  Quit Drinking
  Designed to help listeners relax and overcome the emotional and physical cravings for Alcohol.

  Cravings Manager
  Motivational tips and the ability to track cravings, especially for those quitting smoking, drugs, alcohol, or trying to lose weight.

  iPromises Recovery Companion
  Free AA and 12-step recovery application.

  Porn & Sexual Addiction Support
  Includes chat, news, videos, podcasts.

• VI. Relevant Institutional Policies and References
  1. UT Health Science Center at Houston: Hoop Policy 186 Appendix A
  2. UT System: UTS 102 Drugs and Alcohol Policy
  3. National Institute of Drugs and Alcohol