The fall semester started off free of arrests for controlled substances, but within the last month, the University police department made three arrests for possession of prescription drugs or amphetamines.
Since Oct. 17, arrests have been made on campus for possession of Xanax, amphetamines and Concerta, a central nervous system stimulant regulated under the Controlled Substances Act. Before Oct. 17, the last arrest by UTPD for possession of a prescription pill without a prescription took place on July 3, according to police reports.
UTPD Officer Darrell Halstead said certain drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamines are prone to abuse but prescription drug use is also seen on campus.
“We’re hearing about a lot of students that are using prescription drugs that they get from other students that are prescribed these drugs — Ritalin, Adderall, things like that,” Halstead said.
Police pulled over a UT student on East 21st Street on Nov. 7 for allegedly disregarding a stop sign. While looking for his insurance card, the student opened the center console and quickly closed it. The officer asked to see what was inside the console, and the student told the officer it was “nothing,” according to an arrest affidavit.
The student then handed a rusted bolt to the officer and pulled a white pill from the center console. He told the officer it was a prescription pill but did not say what kind. According to the affidavit, he then allegedly put the pill in his mouth, and the officer attempted to keep him from swallowing it.
The student swallowed the pill and was removed from the car and restrained. The officer searched the car and found three more capsules of Concerta in the center console, according to the affidavit.
On Nov. 13, police pulled over a non-UT-affiliated subject on Whitis Avenue and arrested him for allegedly driving while intoxicated and driving without a valid license. A search of his person at Travis County Central Booking found Xanax, but the suspect did not have a prescription for the drug, according to police affidavits.
Another non-UT-affiliated subject was arrested Oct. 13 after he was found sitting on a bench next to the Littlefield Fountain and was determined to be intoxicated in a public place. When officers searched the subject, they found an orange pill, which the officer determined to be an amphetamine after testing it with a kit, according to a police affidavit.
Halstead said an increase in drugs around campus is disconcerting because recreational drug use can lead to harder usage or stronger drugs.
“There’s always a chance that it gets out of control and out of hand,” Halstead said.
Halstead said it is difficult to prevent drug use on campus aside from talking to students. Groups such as D.A.R.E. exist in elementary and middle schools try to shy students away from drugs, but the decision is ultimately their own when they are older, he said.
“I don’t know of any way to stop them from doing it except for asking them to use common sense and good judgement,” Halstead said.
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