Wesleyan student drug overdoses could change policies on all college campuses

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (AP)

As drug overdoses left two Wesleyan students fighting for their lives, witnesses helped investigators quickly identify the suspects:

The drug-dealing was an open secret, according to court documents, even as the university has gotten tougher on drug violations.

The club-drug overdoses, which sent a total of 12 people to hospitals, are likely to bring more scrutiny to drug policies on college campuses, including Wesleyan's, which have wrestled with how to approach enforcement and when to involve local police.

it will force schools to examine their policies," said state Rep. Matthew Lesser, a member of the Wesleyan class of 2005 whose district includes the Middletown campus. "It forces us to look at what we can do to make sure students are safe."

Four students have been arrested in connection with last weekend's overdoses, which left two students in critical condition. Authorities say the drug was presented as Molly, a popular name for the euphoria-inducing stimulant MDMA, but was likely cut with other designer drugs.

As on other campuses, the unlawful use and distribution of illicit drugs is prohibited at Wesleyan, but the issue is often complicated by a desire to treat substance abuse as a health issue first and what some describe as society's ambivalence about the use of certain drugs.

Tucker Andersen, a Wesleyan trustee, said the administration has been very thoughtful and tried to balance all the issues involved.

The school referred 154 students for disciplinary action on drug violations in 2011 but that number jumped to 281 in 2012, according to data reported to the U.S. Education Department. There were 240 students disciplined in 2013 on the campus of 3,200.

"At Wesleyan, we don't sweep these problems under the rug," Dean Michael Whaley said.

University President Michael Roth told the campus newspaper, The Wesleyan Argus, he does not anticipate major changes to drug policies that have been effective in "trying to point students toward making responsible choices, not overly policing them, while at the same time putting up pretty clear guardrails."

An interview request from The Associated Press was denied.

A spokeswoman for Middletown police, Lt. Heather Desmond, said Wesleyan has been more "forthright" in recent years about involving them in drug cases. Still, she said there are cases of drug-related illnesses on campus that involve emergency medical responders, but not police.