Drugs Among College Graduates

[amanda]

I WANTED SOME FEEDBACK ON DRUG USE AMONG COLLEGE GRADUATES. I AM ABOUT TO GRADUATE FROM TX A&M AT KINGSVILLE. THE PAST 4 YRS HAVE BEEN DISAPPOINTING. THERE IS A HIGH # OF FELLOW STUDENTS THAT USE DURGS AND THEY ARE CRIMINOLOGY MAJORS. IT IS SAD BECAUSE I REALLY BELIEVE IN LE AND dOING THE RIGHT THING. I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE THAT SOME OF THESE PEOPLE WILL BE WORKING OUT THERE IN THE WORLD WITH THESE TYPE OF VALUSE. HAS ANYBODY DEALT W/ THIS OF HAVE COMMENTS?

[dmclark]

Amanda: You've hit a nerve on a subject we've discussed before. Drug use and CJ majors. Colleges in this country (in general) have not done a fine job in telling CJ majors about DQ issues with law enforcement organizations. They LIKE the tuition money. I know from personal experience that Sam Houston State has been pretty nasty to federal LE speakers who've dared to bring it up.

Don't worry about the drug losers. They'll find out soon enough about Reality 101 when they look for a job. Best of luck to you.

[SigGuy552]

I just graduated from college also and drug use is very common. There are alot of marijuana smokers in my school(UCSC) but I don't think its that big of a deal. The meth problem is rather serious and I think part of that is competition in school. There has been a study that shows meth usage skyrockets during midterms and finals at our school. MJ and E usually dies down during those times or stay the same. Coke pretty much stays the same too. No offense and not to be mean Amanda, you might want to work on your spelling if your thinking about getting a job. Also, CAPS means your yelling.

[ATF SAC]

Feel free to print out the drug policies in this forum and share them with your classmates. We ain't arguing or debating the merits, we are just applying those policies and ATF and FBI are like typical.

[SigGuy552]

Hey ATF SAC,
Still remember me? Haven't been on the boards for a while. The application process didn't go to well so they stuck me in the eligibility list. Chances of me getting an LE job in Cali is now slim to non-existent. The academy class I was suppose to be in got cancelled after about 3 weeks. As for debating the merits.....we've been beating that dead horse for a while. Seems like both sides are deeply entrenched in their beliefs.

[Raven231]

I can say from working in a college town that I see the drug use is prevalent. Mostly marijuana, but it's amazing when the college student starts arguing his/her rights and states I have no right to arrest them and this is in violation of their rights (blah, blah, blah).

Some say I am a CJ major and I know the law and my rights. I tell them well keep up with the route your on and you'll be in school for a lot longer getting another degree or flipping burgers because your CJ degree will be worthless. I ask them about professors and see if they discuss how and what things can get them DQed from jobs. Most state there is only one who discusses any of these issues with them the others don't seem to care.

Last week arrested a kid for DUI-D (cannabis) and he told me he was a CJ major and he was in disbelief when I told him this would DQ him from a job in most agencies for a good number of years.

It's truly amazing what a blameless society we have become.

Raven231

[DJOHNSON954]

I am also amazed at the number of individuals that are in school, majoring in LE, that use drugs. In one of my LE classes last quarter, there were several students that admitted to smoking the occasional joint or two. Some of them just don't get it. I wouldn't let it bother you too much. They will be competing with you one day for a job in LE and guess who will come out on top?......YOU.

[Sandles2Sidearm]

I work with a variety of agencies and one is the Califronia State Parks. To become either a Ranger or a Permanent Lifeguard, you must become a sworn officer. So here is my discussion:

Lifeguard A is working late season, trying to fulfill his 1200 hours and I asked him if he was going to test for the Permanent/Sworn position.

He said of course, and I went on to ask him what qualifications he had? He said he had a BA in police science and his life long dream was to work with this agency. He being 30+ made me inquire why he had waited so long?

He stated he lied on his background for LAPD about his amount of drug usage. I asked what that meant and he stated to the Investigator that he had Experimented with MJ a hand full of times. They checked his references and then administered a Poly. He had usage in exess of 40 some odd times, plus "other stuff" as he put it.

I bit my tongue when he told me this, all I could think of was, are you retarded!!!

You have a BA in Police Science and you thought you would toke it up...and then lied to get in...you Jacka$$

People like this kill me and I would not be suprised if he would apply again and say it was the investigators fault.

This is pretty common amongst people, they really have no idea what peronal integrity is and how it applies to law enforcement.

I am not the first to throw stones, by any means, but really....

[USSS1811]

not only am i disappointed with the amount of drug use among college students wishing to enter the criminal justice field, i am disturbed by the amount of general criminality and disrespect for LEO's.

i used to work for a department which had a university in its jurisdiction, which had a very good CJ program. i was always irritated by arresting CJ majors (happen more often than i thought it should). besides the fact that they were involved in criminal activity and alcohol violations, they were complete jerks. spouting off their ridiculous junior lawyer BS about failure to read miranda, illegal arrest, unlawful searches, and all that other crap that just made me want to be ill. what the hell were they thinking?

makes you want to sit on the couch and eat moon pies...

[CaptRidley]

I absolutely hate drugs!!! No matter how minor the drug, you know the kind, it comes from the earth, God put it here for me, so it must be good. Those kinds of drugs to the really hard corps drugs like cocaine. For the last 30 years (31 in July) I have never done drugs, and I'm not about to start now.

I have narrowed it down to two jobs that will always keep me employed. Number one, Funeral Parlor (people will die everyday) and number two, Special Agent with DEA, because people will continue to grow, manufacture, sell, distribute and use illegal drugs.

When I first joined the Corps in 89, Zero Tolerance for drugs meant just that. If you popped on the piss test for something as minor as weed, you were gone. Now the drug use does not start in College, it starts in HS, if not JHS. When I had my panel interview for DEA I was asked if I had ever used drugs, and I said "No" It seemed as if the RAC wanted to pause the interview, and say, come on man, you can tell me, and oh by the way, it will be verified by a Polygraph later.

I worked as a recruiter, and you will not believe the the kinds of drugs these kids are using in HS, and how frequent. There is a magic number that will require a drug waiver. I'm not saying that recruiter tell potential applicants, when they reveal a number above that magic number, that the recruiter may suggest a number just below that. I can neither confirm nor deny that, however I will say this much, we would require a lot of drug waivers for our men and women in uniform.

I speak Dutch by birth as my Country used to be a Dutch colony. For a long time I did not know that Marijuana was legal in Holland. Apparently the majority of the US College students do know this, as Amsterdam, aside from its Red Light District happens to be the place to party, because it is legal. I never got that. It's like they think it is ok if they smoke or do drugs in Holland, because it is legal in Holland. These same individuals fail to realize that they are only on vacation, and that they have a US Passport, and not a Dutch Passport and that they will eventually have to come down from their so called legal high and return to the States, where the many law enforcement agencies, both Federal and Local do care about your drug use, even if it was in Holland.

They just do not get it. Instead they want to argue that Marijuana should be legal, or that they are not hurting anyone. Too bad they fail to realize that they helped to bring down two towers on 9/11, four airplanes, and an attack on the Pentagon. They also helped fund Bin Laden and his people, and the countless attacks against Americans all over the world by these terrorists, but they just do not get it.

I'm not making this up. I wish I was, but I'm not. It is commonly referred to by DEA as Narco Terrorism, and these kids, which is what they are, our future at that, think it is harmless.

www.dea.gov/ongoing/narco-terrorism.html

I think ONDCP has a commercial that depicts the relationship between drug use, and traces it steps from the user, to the pusher, but more importantly shows the money trail that goes on behind the scenes, they also have one where innocent bystanders are getting killed as a result of a drug related shooting. Then there is also the other side of drugs, which includes crime, which is not just limited to the slums, but enters the colleges as well, via the date rape drug, but still they will argue that they are doing nothing wrong. I was just getting high man, no big deal.

Can you imagine if Marijuana was legal. Would you allow yourself to fly on a plane if you knew your pilot just got high on his legal weed, or better yet allow a doctor to operate on you after getting high. I'm sorry I do not see the gray in this. There is only black or white. Either it is legal or it is not. If you steal your mother's Tylenol III and use it as a party drug, and happen to get caught with it, and not have a prescription, you are wrong end of story.

Why even try to justify yourself. It is sad to hear about the drug use among some of the Crim Majors, again this is our future!!!

I'm with what Raven, Reid, Johnson and 1811 said.

Amanda you are doing the right thing, and continue to stay away from idiots like that, as you do not want to be guilty by association either. You do you you, and worry about you, and you will be ok.

Out here!!!
Mike-D

[nj1118]

At my university steroid use was rampant among CJ majors looking to get into FLE and state police. There were lots of guys that I lifted with that blatantly admitted it, and many that didn't admit it but it was plainly obvious just by looking at them over a period of time they were on the juice.

[Dave]

I am a CJ major in college. I am extremely proud to say I have never done any illegal drugs, not even experimentation. The only exception is underage drinking in moderation without any severe intoxication or driving of any kind.

I find that the majority of CJ students I run into have the attitude that there is no way the police will find out they did drugs. They think the diploma will get them the job. My response is usually a slight giggle followed by trying to explain the hiring process to them. Most don't care, they think they will get the job. They are the ones who will be eating your dust at the testing phases.

I am very thankful to have hooked up with Explorers/Auxillary to keep my ass in line. It pays off, do it.

[ATF SAC]

Dave, congratulations on making good decisions. Actually, less than 20% of all CJ majors and/or Explorers will actually work in the field. The fact that a large number of folks make decisions that will bar them from LE work is not as important as that programs give us serious students of the game with a real committment. You can buy your shoes from the others.

[Noatin]

Originally posted by CaptRidley
I absolutely hate drugs!!! No matter how minor the drug...

They just do not get it. Instead they want to argue that Marijuana should be legal, or that they are not hurting anyone.

Can you imagine if Marijuana was legal. Would you allow yourself to fly on a plane if you knew your pilot just got high on his legal weed, or better yet allow a doctor to operate on you after getting high. I'm sorry I do not see the gray in this. There is only black or white. Either it is legal or it is not. If you steal your mother's Tylenol III and use it as a party drug, and happen to get caught with it, and not have a prescription, you are wrong end of story.




I'm right there with you. Drugs are bad news, PERIOD. No exceptions.

I even think the whole "Medical Marijuana" issue is a bunch of BS. How could you justify allowing a doctor to prescribe a joint (to be rolled up and smoked) as medication, when there are alternative methods that fight the same symptoms marijuana would (nassea, vomitting, etc.) in the form of a pill.

The last time I checked, doctors weren't prescibing Herion or opium, instead of morphine, so why allow marijuana as medication.

To me it just seems like a poor/dead-end attempt towards the legalization of marijuana.

I just don't get it.

Noatin