Cerritos College Alcohol & Drug Policy

BP 3550 – Alcohol and Drug Free Environment and Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Program

The District is committed to providing its employees and students with an alcohol and drug-free campus and workplace environment. It emphasizes prevention and intervention through education.

Notice

The District will provide annual notice to students and employees of the District’s drug and alcohol free campus and workplace environment. The District will provide written notice of its policies through:

• Publication of the policies and procedures in the on-line catalog;
• Annual email notification to all employees and credit students;
• Inclusion in employee onboarding;
• Online publication of Board Policies and Administrative Procedures. 

Health Risks That May Be Associated with the Use of Illicit Drugs and the Abuse of Alcohol

• Partner and/or child abuse. (HHS—NIH—NIDA: Drug Abuse and Addiction: One of America’s Most 2Challenging Problems and HHS—NIH—NIAAA: A Snapshot of Annual High-Risk College Drinking Consequences)
• Unintended injuries or death, including motor vehicle crashes. (Hingson, R.W., et al: Magnitude of Alcohol-Related Mortality and Morbidity  among U.S. College Students Ages 18-24, in The Journal of Studies on Alcohol, March, 2002)
• Being hit, otherwise assaulted, violently attacked, and/or murdered by another under the influence.  (HHS—NIH—NIDA: Drug Abuse and Addiction: One of America’s Most Challenging Problems)
• Sexual activity without protection against HIV, hepatitis (A, B, and C), and other STIs. (HHS—NIH—NIDA: Drug Abuse and Addiction: One of America’s Most 39 Challenging Problems)
• Rape, including date rape; other sexual assault; and/or other sexual activity when under the influence and unable to consent.  (Hingson, R.W., et al: Magnitude of Alcohol-Related Mortality and Morbidity among U.S. College Students Ages 18-24, in The Journal of Studies on Alcohol,  March, 2002)
• Unsafe interactions with medications, including more than 150 medications that should not be mixed with alcohol. (HHS—NIH—NIAAA: Alcohol: What You Don’t Know Can Harm You)
• Binge and other drinking behaviors leading to ingestion of toxic amounts of alcohol, which can lead to alcohol poisoning, with effects including mental confusion, stupor, coma, inability to be roused, vomiting, seizures, slow or irregular breathing, hypothermia, bluish skin color, and paleness, and, if left untreated, seizures, permanent brain damage, and/or death. (HHS—NIH—NIAAA: Facts About Alcohol Poisoning) .
• Premature births and low birth weights; alcohol and illicit drug-related birth defects, including fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) involving severe physical, mental, and behavioral problems; and in the case of prenatal cocaine exposure, a 1.5 times increased likelihood of needing special education services in school.  (HHS—NIH—NIAAA: Alcohol: What You Don’t Know Can Harm You and Drug Abuse and Addiction: One of America’s Most Challenging Problems)
• Suicide.  (HHS—NIH—NIAAA: A Snapshot of Annual High-Risk College Drinking Consequences)
• Long-term health problems including liver disease; heart disease; cancers including those of the mouth, throat, larynx (voice box), breast, rectum, and colon; and pancreatitis. (HHS—NIH—NIAAA: Alcohol: What You Don’t Know Can Harm You)
• Homelessness.  (HHS—NIH—NIDA: Drug Abuse and Addiction: One of America’s Most  Challenging Problems)

Prevention and Intervention Programs

The District provides education and maintains programs and services designed to aid students, employees, and their families in receiving assistance for alcohol and/or drug abuse problems. Included in these educational and assistive programs and services are:

• Notification of the dangers of drug use and dependency in the catalog;
• Mental health services provided to students through the Student Health Services; and
• An Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for full-time employees and their families

Alcohol and Drug Prohibitions

The unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensing, possession, or use of alcohol or any controlled substance is prohibited on District property, during District-sponsored field trips, activities or workshops, and in any facility or vehicle operated by the District.

Violation of Board Policy 3550, Drug and Alcohol-Free Environment and Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention Program, will be addressed by the District. The District will take appropriate action designed to address each specific violation, which may include, but is  not limited to:

• Termination of employment,
• Expulsion,
• Referral to Campus Police or other law enforcement agency for prosecution as permitted by law, or
• Mandatory participation in an alcohol or drug abuse assistance or rehabilitation program.

As a condition of employment, employees of the District will have their fingerprints recorded with the California State Department of Justice and any subsequent conviction or violations of the law involving drugs and/or alcohol will be reported to Campus Police and to the Human Resources Office pursuant to the requirements of law. In addition, employees must notify the District within five (5) calendar days of any conviction for violation of a criminal drug statute occurring in the workplace. The District is required to report any violations of criminal drug or alcohol statutes that occur in the workplace to the 99 United States Department of Education on an annual basis.

Student Safety

The District shall provide to students, as part of established campus orientations, educational and preventative information provided by the State Department of Public Health about opioid overdose and information about the use and location of fentanyl test strips and opioid overdose reversal medication. The District will notify students of the presence and location of fentanyl test strips through a method such as email.

The campus health center shall apply to distribute dosages of a federally approved opioid overdose reversal medication and participate in the Naloxone Distribution Project administered by the State Department of Health Care Services. Upon approval to distribute dosages of a federal approved opioid overdose reversal medication and participation in the Naloxone Distribution Project, the campus health center will distribute  a federally approved opioid overdose reversal medication obtained through the Naloxone Distribution Project. The campus health center will also stock and distribute fentanyl test strips in the campus health center. The campus health center will distribute written instructions on how to properly use the fentanyl test strips together with the fentanyl test strips.