Drug and Alcohol Policy - USM Forum -- Message Board

Date: May 28, 2004

Drug and Alcohol Policy

Date: May 28, 2004

Mitch:

Thanks for posting the details of the DAPPER committee (and, as a word person, I thank you for paying attention to the acronym). Would you mind sharing the impetus for this policy? Is it federal/state compliance or is this a local issue that's come to the forefront? I don't have any prior knowledge about what's already been discussed concerning this issue, but I thought a bit of history explaining why this committee is being formed might be useful for those in the immediate USM community.

Thanks again for the details,

Truth/AH

PS--If this helps, here is Vanderbilt University's Substance Abuse Policy for staff members: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/HRS/policies/substanceabuse.htm

And the Drug-Free Workplace Statement:

http://www.vanderbilt.edu/HRS/ertopics/drugfree.htm

And from the Vanderbilt Faculty Manual (http://www.vanderbilt.edu/facman/FacultyManualPartIII.pdf page 115):

In compliance with the Drug-Free Workplace Act and the Drug-Free Schools and Campuses Act, Vanderbilt University prohibits the unlawful possession,use, manufacture, or distribution of illicit drugs and alcohol by students,faculty members, and staff members on its property or as part of any University-sponsored activities. This prohibition extends to off-campus professional activities of Vanderbilt faculty and staff members, including attendance at professional conferences and participation in student programs abroad, when those activities are sponsored by the University. If a faculty member is convicted of any drug-related criminal violation on University premises or while conducting University business off the premises, that faculty member must notify his or her Dean no later than five days following the conviction.

Vanderbilt University will impose disciplinary sanctions on students, faculty members, and staff members, up to and including expulsion or termination of employment and referral for prosecution, for violation of this prohibition. A condition of continuance may include the completion of an appropriate rehabilitation program. These sanctions will be imposed consistent with disciplinary standards and procedures found in the Faculty Manual, the University and Medical Center Substance Abuse Policy (Policy #HR-035), the Vanderbilt University Medical Center Alcohol and Drug Use Policy (OP 30-08), and any applicable union contract. Counseling and treatment for drug or alcohol abuse and addiction are available through on-campus programs. In addition, many local community organizations offer rehabilitation programs. Faculty and staff members should contact the Employee Assistance Program, 936-1327, for information about available services and referrals.

Date: May 28, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: truth4usm/AH
"Mitch: Thanks for posting the details of the DAPPER committee (and, as a word person, I thank you for paying attention to the acronym). Would you mind sharing the impetus for this policy? Is it federal/state compliance or is this a local issue that's come to the forefront? I don't have any prior knowledge about what's already been discussed concerning this issue, but I thought a bit of history explaining why this committee is being formed might be useful for those in the immediate USM community. Thanks again for the details, Truth/AH PS--If this helps, here is Vanderbilt University's Substance Abuse Policy for staff members: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/HRS/policies/substanceabuse.htm And the Drug-Free Workplace Statement: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/HRS/ertopics/drugfree.htm And from the Vanderbilt Faculty Manual (http://www.vanderbilt.edu/facman/FacultyManualPartIII.pdf page 115): In compliance with the Drug-Free Workplace Act and the Drug-Free Schools and Campuses Act, Vanderbilt University prohibits the unlawful possession,use, manufacture, or distribution of illicit drugs and alcohol by students,faculty members, and staff members on its property or as part of any University-sponsored activities. This prohibition extends to off-campus professional activities of Vanderbilt faculty and staff members, including attendance at professional conferences and participation in student programs abroad, when those activities are sponsored by the University. If a faculty member is convicted of any drug-related criminal violation on University premises or while conducting University business off the premises, that faculty member must notify his or her Dean no later than five days following the conviction. Vanderbilt University will impose disciplinary sanctions on students, faculty members, and staff members, up to and including expulsion or termination of employment and referral for prosecution, for violation of this prohibition. A condition of continuance may include the completion of an appropriate rehabilitation program. These sanctions will be imposed consistent with disciplinary standards and procedures found in the Faculty Manual, the University and Medical Center Substance Abuse Policy (Policy #HR-035), the Vanderbilt University Medical Center Alcohol and Drug Use Policy (OP 30-08), and any applicable union contract. Counseling and treatment for drug or alcohol abuse and addiction are available through on-campus programs. In addition, many local community organizations offer rehabilitation programs. Faculty and staff members should contact the Employee Assistance Program, 936-1327, for information about available services and referrals."

A-

Thanks for the links! The impetus? Not 100% sure what got folks attention originally, but the few meager places this is mentioned in our university documents do not meet the requirements of a number of federal regulations governing universities that accept federal funds (as a former chair of the USM IRB and the current director of an accredited doctoral program, I am kind of of a compliance issue geek).

The history? As some of you may recall, a D&A policy rather suddenly made the rounds last year, and that policy strired up a bit of controversy. I won't go over the specifics here, but I will say that quite a few people pointed out what I thought were valid concerns. That policy was pulled off the table, and the issue now needs to be re-visited (this is not an option).

I have a personal stake in this one, because we do alcohol research in my laboratory (we are one of only a few sites on campus that can legally store and administer alcohol). The policy sent around last year may have made it harder to do this research.

Compliance tends to be a hot button issue on campuses. It affects both the day to day lives and careers of faculty, staff, and students. Emory, I believe, had a heated debate surrounding their D&A policy, and had to seriouly re-examine it with input from the university community. Also, a number of major universities have had their research enterprises temporarily shut down due to compliance failures (usually IRB failures). So, even though a D&A policy may seem like it is something that should be no more than afterthought, doing it correctly is quite important. D&A policies also address university safety, personnel and student issues, state and federal criminal codes, education, treatment, and so forth. Rather complex.

Anyway, that's what's going on. Thank the committee in advance-they have a good bit of work ahead of them.

Date: May 29, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by: Mitchell Berman
" A- Thanks for the links! The impetus? Not 100% sure what got folks attention originally, . . .

Anyway, that's what's going on. Thank the committee in advance-they have a good bit of work ahead of them. "

I believe in one of the first two PUC meetings Shelby indicated that there had been an incident recently in which five staff people were terminated for alleged violations of the present policy. He indicated that they had to be rehired because the present policy was ("unclear"? imperfect?). So a new policy needed to be created that would allow the university to terminate people expeditiously. Since we don't really know what happened, we don't know if the problem was the policy or the way it was handled. In any case, he and Lee Gore seem to think it is a problem.

That's about what I know.

Date: May 30, 2004

Stephen:

Didn't hear that one, though we had a situation a couple of years ago in which a staff member stole quite a bit of money from a clinic (over $1,000). We found out later that the person was allegedly crack cocaine dependent. We scrambled to figure out how to handle that one. The person eventually paid the money back, resigned his/her job, and no criminal charges were filed. We had no comprehensive policy to guide us--and I can see how in the absence of such a policy how different standards can be applied to different employees. Also, in hindsight, I wish this person had a standard option to choose to receive treatment, followed by re-employment with some monitoring program to ensure compliance with follow up. This person was a really nice individual, and very competent (when not absent or playing with the books).

It shouldn't surprise anyone that a notable number of employees and students run into alcohol and drug problems at some point in their career. So, I guess our current policy could stand some examination. I think this committee can come up with a comprehensive and humane policy, prevention, and intervention strategy for our university community.

Mitch

Date: May 30, 2004

Nice going Mitch. You're a role model to Shelby - this is how shared governance is supposed to work. I'm confident that the fruit of your committe's work will be accepted by the university community.