University of Buckingham to implement “drug free” student contract

The University of Buckingham hopes to become Britain’s first “drug free university”, with vice-chancellor Sir Anthony Seldon introducing a contract for students to sign. Students must pledge against drug use on campus for university-related businesses, or face suspension if they persist.

Sir Anthony told The Sunday Times: “Our aim is not to be punitive or repressive but to be compassionate and enlightened, helping our students learn how to be fully adult and responsible to themselves and to others.

Information about the harm that drugs could do should be everywhere — as ubiquitous as the warnings on cigarette packets.”

He cited figures from the National Union of Students (NUS), which show that two in five are drug users. In a survey of 2,800 students, the most widely consumed were cannabis, ecstasy, nitrous oxide (commonly known as laughing gas) and cocaine.

Statistics from 116 universities obtained by The Sunday Times reveal that 1,300 students were disciplined for drug use from 2016-2017, which had risen 42% from 2014 to 2015. Kingston, Nottingham, Essex and Sussex universities punished at least 200 students each for drug use, culminating the highest figures.

Information about the harm that drugs could do should be everywhere — as ubiquitous as the warnings on cigarette packets

– Sir Anthony Seldon

The NUS and Release charity revealed that there were 2,067 cases of drug possession across the country in the 2016-2017 academic year, 21 of which resulted in permanent suspension. They have since urged universities to play a less punitive, more supportive role, due to mental health factors leading to drug use, and “incredibly invasive” measures such as sniffer dogs and searches causing anxiety. They also said that reporting students to the police would discourage students from seeking help.

Drug policy advisor and former chief constable Tom Lloyd said Sir Anthony’s “extremely naive” proposal “infantilised” students, since university is for students “to develop without being mollycoddled”. Instead, he suggested to allow The Loop, a drug testing organisation, to check drugs before use.

Steve Moore of Volteface, a think tank on drug policy, said neither decriminalisation nor zero tolerance would be effective, and proposed to enable users to test the quality of the drugs, since “There is virtually no drugs education in schools and universities.”

The director of the online drug information service DrugWise, Harry Shapiro, stressed the need for pastoral care and proper consultation with health professionals.