When Eric gets ready to write a term paper, he tunes the radio to his favorite station, unfolds his notebook, lays out the assignment, pulls the chair close and draws a deep breath.
He then removes a small, blue pill from a vile in his pocket and sits it on the desk. He begins crushing the tablet of morphine beneath his driver’s license, leans over his desk, and inhales the line of white powder.
“I have to do drugs to wake up. I have to do drugs to go to sleep,” said Eric, who wished to remain anonymous. “I have to do drugs to do anything. I have to do drugs to survive.
“I’ve been addicted to opiates for nine or ten years. With each day, it gets harder and harder.”
Eric came to The University of Memphis to get an education and get away from a drug addiction that is costing him his money, health and many friends. When he arrived in August 2002, he quickly realized the same drugs he was trying to escape were readily available on campus.
“Anybody can get them if they really want them. If I got money, the drugs are available,” Eric said.
Ben Woodford, freshman anthropology and philosophy major, agreed. “Students can go five minutes in any given direction on campus and find a sack (of marijuana),” he said.
Nikki Acerra, Police Service’s crime prevention coordinator, said members of her department use a hands-on approach to combat the use and availability of drugs on The U of M campus. She also stressed the importance of cooperation between the campus community and Police Services.
“Police work is about information,” Acerra said. “We’d like to be able to make some more drug arrests.”
Acerra said besides alcohol, marijuana is the most prevalent drug found on The U of M campus.
“I think on most any college campus you’re going to have your share of drug violations, but our numbers have been in the past substantially lower than other universities,” she said.
Despite the joint effort of Police Services and the Memphis Police Department, many students say they do not believe enough is being done to combat drug use on campus.
“If you walk up and down the halls of my dorm, you can smell marijuana,” said Joe Roberts, sophomore math major.
Roberts said he does not believe any action is being taken in the dorms to prevent drug use.
“The cops don’t enforce busting marijuana users because typical smokers are discrete about it,” Eric said. “I can get marijuana in six different places in this dorm alone.”
Acerra said the best way to prevent the availability of drugs is for students to get to know one or two campus police officers.
“We want everyone to be safe, get a good education, and enjoy the time while they’re here,” Acerra said.
