Current Event Post

        We’ve all heard the publicized stories of alleged sexual assault on college campuses, whether it’s Jameis Winston, the Duke lacrosse scandal, or the recently convicted Vanderbilt football players. There are also thousands upon thousands of other instances that receive less attention, and some that are never reported to begin with. An entity that is gaining a lot of attention, in particular, is Greek life on campus, where many alleged assaults take place.As bad as these acts are, it needs to be understood that a common component in all these cases is the use or abuse of alcohol (which is the foundation of a fraternity party) to commit such heinous acts, and the University of Virginia took a big step in the right direction with a preventative measure, not a reactive one.

A little background, a story came out a couple months back about an alleged rape in a frat house at the University of Virginia. Despite the fact that many of the reported facts have been disputed since, the case is still under investigation. However, that did not stop the University from making some major changes to how fraternities will conduct themselves moving forward, particularly at fraternity functions, or anything that involves at least half the members, guests, and runs past 9:00 p.m. When these criteria are met, the following must be enforced: three “sober and lucid” fraternity members must be in attendance to serve drinks, prevent people used from using the stairs, and they must have the keys to enter any room at any time. In addition, any pre-mixed drinks, punches, or kegs are strictly prohibited. Licensed bartenders are required to handle liquor at the larger fraternity events (sober individuals at smaller events), and security guards are required to be hired by the fraternity to enforce guest lists and to bounce unruly patrons. 

These rules may seem excessive, but the facts support the changes. Every year in the United States, there are approximately 97,000 alcohol-related sexual assaults of individuals ages 18-24, which is college-age. That doesn’t even include the 690,000 yearly assaults committed by students in that age group while under the influence of alcohol. On top of that is the issue and consistency of excessive drinking in college and in the Greek community. According to a Harvard study, 4 out of 5 sorority and fraternity members regularly engage in binge drinking, compared to just 2 out of 5 of all college students. These numbers are higher than any other age group because of the availability of alcohol, the social pressure, and the lack of responsibility.

An obvious connection this story shares to our class is the abuse of alcohol and how an entity is looking to limit its availability in an effort to cut down on the ability to use it as a “weapon”, of sorts. The correlation between the sexual assaults and alcohol made it clear that, whether by using the “date rape” drug in the drinks or just through excessive drinking, alcohol was a key component in most cases of sexual assault on college campuses, and fraternities were one of the top places for the crime to occur. It’s not Prohibition, by any means, but it’s a move in the right direction by limiting the chances for drinks to be spiked or for individuals to be forced upstairs.

Even though the University of Virginia sexual assault allegation isn’t appearing to hold much water, I think the University is taking a big step in making campuses, particularly fraternity houses, much safer. I would also expect many other college campuses to follow in their footsteps very soon by issuing similar changes.

Stroud, M. (2015, January 21). Post-Scandal, UVA Frat Parties Rage On. Retrieved January 25, 2015, from http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2015-01-21/post-scandal-uva-frat-parties-rage-on#p2

Binge Drinking in College - The Impact of Alcohol in Higher Education. (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2015, from https://www.addictioncenter.com/college/binge-drinking/

Drinking and Drug Abuse in Greek Life - Substance Abuse in Fraternities and Sororities. (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2015, from https://www.addictioncenter.com/college/drinking-drug-abuse-greek-life/

Activity 2 Post

“The Devil’s Breath.” This is the Colombian street name for a drug that is commonly used in anesthetics in the United States. Scopolamine. It may not sound familiar, but when weaponized, it’s arguably the most powerful and dangerous drug out there. It can turn any given person into a ventriloquist dummy, of sorts, surrendering their free will and making them the puppet of anyone willing to abuse their current state. One Colombian drug dealer simply described it as “Once we’ve got you, we own you” (Dulces Sueños).

Upon searching “scopolamine epidemic” on Google, 44,700 results were yielded. It’s popularity isn’t high, especially when viewing it as a threat, but the potential is there for an incredible weapon of biological warfare. In reading some of the articles that eluded to an epidemic involving scopolamine, a common theme was fear, agitation, and other feelings not of one’s own doing, much like a “date rape” drug. The loss of one’s willpower, however, is what separates it from the rest. According to one article, there have been over 1,200 cases of scopolamine poisonings in Colombia, some of which resulted in individuals doing things like giving up their bank account information to the attackers, even committing violent crimes upon instruction with no ability to resist (Dulces Sueños). Obviously, hearing such sounds pretty extreme, but upon reading the drug’s effects and uses/misuses, the danger is all too real, making these themes validated by scientific facts.

Currently, I don’t think scopolamine abuse can be viewed as an epidemic, but it’s moving in that direction quite fast. It’s not the issue of it being a recreationally used drug, but instead of it becoming a weapon. The cases in Colombia have proven its effectiveness, and being unregulated, people can buy the stuff by the barrel, so I do expect the problems to worsen before the government intervenes. I think the media is perceiving them as an early onset epidemic as opposed to one already at its peak, but I think the main reason for them using the term “epidemic” is to create headlines. It will get people to listen when talking about possible epidemics, just ask Americans about “Swine flu” or ebola, both of which turned out to be mostly hype.

In relation to class, I think this drug would cause a great debate about it’s placement on the CSA schedule. Not only is it available medically, but would students perceive it as highly abusable because of the weaponized form, or would they only consider recreational abuse? I think you’d hear students argue all five categories of the schedule because it’s a drug that is just now becoming weaponized, so some would still see it as just an anesthetic, others as something serious. I think it also relates to the conversations we’ve had about the effects of drugs, ranging from hallucinations to fidgets to seizures. I think the loss of free will while under the influence of it would be a pretty interesting side effect to discuss in its own right.

Palm, J. (n.d.). Drug Abuse-A Global Epidemic – Part 2: Scope of the Problem. Retrieved January 22, 2015, from http://realtruth.org/articles/120712-004.html

A descriptive study of an epidemic of poisoning caused by heroin adulterated with scopolamine. (2000, February 1). Retrieved January 22, 2015, from http://www.researchgate.net/publication/12145017_A_descriptive_study_of_an_epidemic_of_poisoning_caused _by_heroine_adulterated_with_scopolamine

Colombia Criminals Drug Victims with "Scariest Drug" - Scopolamine | HispanicallySpeakingNews.com. (2013, June 19). Retrieved January 23, 2015, from http://www.hispanicallyspeakingnews.com/latino-daily-news/details/colombia-criminals-continue-to-drug-victims-with-worlds-scariest-drug-scopo/25269/ 

Epidemic of poisoning caused by scopolamine disguised as Rohypnol tablets. (2009, October 1). Retrieved January 22, 2015, from http://www.researchgate.net/publication/ 26887381_Epidemic_of_poisoning_caused_by_scopolamine_disguised_as_Rohypnol_tablets

Living Green with Martine: Dulces Sueños - The Epidemic of Escopolamina. (2011, September 18). Retrieved January 22, 2015, from http://livinggreenwithmartine.blogspot.com/2011/09/dulces-suenos-epidemic-of-escopolamina.html

Activity 1 Post

        While “Through a Blue Lens” had a main focus to scare the youth away from drugs, I believe that, based on the commentary and interaction of the officers, it had another message that was much more subtle, and that was to have sympathy for those that suffer. The drugs for these people are so much more than just a tool to have fun, they fuel these addicts existence. Every move, every decision is based around drugs; how to get them, when to use them, how much to use, etc. These people pass up food and new clothes to get high. It’s past the point of making poor decisions because the decision was made long ago, and at this point, there’s no choice for these individuals. Drugs become their reality.

The film did an excellent job of bringing out that sympathy because, by watching some of the people they interacted with, you realize that these addicts are some pretty normal people. One guy was a star athlete who got into drugs because of an abusive father. Once you have the full story, it’s a lot easier to feel sorry for them and to feel a sense of happiness when, at the end of the film, that same man is talking about how he’d been sober for 4 months and how he has a girlfriend. There’s something pretty cool about seeing someone who was so deep, so far gone, yet still being able to find their way back to reality with the help of family and friends.

I think that’s one of the main support systems this film hopes to fix, is that between families and addicts and the issue of families pushing away those that struggle with these serious issues. As hard as it can be for a family, it needs to be understood that they’re going to be all that’s left to give these people hope to change. They can only circle the flames so long.

About Me

Hey y'all, it's Evan Drake. A little bit about me, I'm from Ocala, FL, the self-proclaimed "horse capital of the world." If you don't believe me, check it out.

We actually have five of these signs, so yeah, we're quite proud of our horses in Ocala. The last Triple Crown horse, Affirmed, was actually bred and trained in Ocala, so horses are kind of a big deal. That's about the extent of our fame, though. Other than that, we've got the Ocala National Forest and Gander Mountain. Aside from my great hometown, I'm a junior at UF and I'm majoring in Criminology and Law. I transferred here after attending Santa Fe for two years, and having been a Gator fan my whole life, I was pretty excited about getting accepted.

Interest-wise, I love fishing, hunting, anything on the water, football, and volunteering. Personally, my favorite type of fishing is spearfishing because it's a lot more involved than fishing with a pole, but I'm not gonna complain about any kind. As a volunteer, I do a lot during the summers working with underprivileged kids, but at UF, I'm a Gator for a Day Ambassador and I give individualized tours to high school seniors and answer any questions they may have while trying to convince them to come to school here.

As far as my goals are concerned, I hope to attend law school directly after undergrad. My dream school is the University of Texas-Austin, but I'm also looking at UF, South Carolina, Ole Miss, and Bama. I would like to start out as a personal injury attorney at a firm, but my ultimate goal is to work on criminal cases as either a prosecutor or a criminal defense attorney, I haven't decided yet.

I have a basic understanding of most common drugs and the various effects they may have, but I don't really hold an opinion as to the legality issue. I understand that the government is attempting to protect people, but I also can see the point that if someone elects to take substances that can jeopardize their livelihood and no one else's, they should be given that opportunity once they've been given a chance to develop a basic comprehension of these behaviors and the possible outcomes. So I'd definitely like to look further into that to see if the government should hold that right in the first place or if it should be contained only to a point, such as preventing distribution to minors, etc.

Other than that, I'm looking forward to getting to know y'all and having a great semester with y'all. Go Gators!