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Read the text of Randy Hencken's press conference speech below

NEWS ADVISORY: May 07, 2008 CONTACT: Randy Hencken, SSDP at SDSU – (619) 865-3000 or randy_hencken@yahoo.com Micah Daigle, SSDP National – (202) 669-5315 or micah@ssdp.org

SAN DIEGO, CA – SDSU students and a group of concerned parents will hold a mock graduation ceremony with 77 “missing” students today in protest of Tuesday’s announcement of a massive drug sting orchestrated by the DEA with the help of SDSU officials. Officials have described the five-month sting as a response to two recent fatal drug overdoses on campus, but those gathered today are criticizing the DEA’s show of force as counterproductive and are calling on the university to enact a life-saving Good Samaritan Policy that encourages students to call for help during a drug overdose emergency.

Today’s demonstration, organized by Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), A New PATH (Parents for Addiction Treatment & Healing), and the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), will display 77 empty chairs and diplomas, symbolizing the 75 students arrested in the sting, as well as the two students who died recently of preventable drug overdoses. Large banners will be hoisted that read: “77 students are gone, but drug abuse isn’t” and “Save lives. Enact a Good Samaritan Policy.”

WHO: Dozens of concerned students and parents
WHAT: Demonstration and press conference supporting Good Samaritan Policies and criticizing DEA sting at SDSU
WHEN: 11am, Wednesday May 7th, 2008
WHERE: SDSU, Hepner Hall/Communication Building

“Sensational drug stings will do nothing to reduce the demand for drugs on campus, nor will they decrease the supply for these drugs for more than a few days,” said Randy Hencken, president of SSDP at SDSU. “ So long as students have the desire to use illegal drugs, and so long as the prohibition of drugs sustains a lucrative black market, drug stings will do little more than create openings for others to step in and supply drugs to SDSU students. This is a complicated problem that requires complex solutions but the discussion needs to start here.”

Gretchen Bergman, director of San Diego-based A New PATH said, “SDSU’s cooperation with the DEA will make students fearful of calling for help during overdose emergencies. The best way to protect our children and prevent drug overdoses is to enact a life-saving Good Samaritan Policy.” Mrs. Bergman is the mother of a graduating SDSU student who is in long-term recovery from heroin addiction.

Good Samaritan Policies protect students who call for help during overdose emergencies, and colleges across the country are enacting them in increasing numbers. Researchers found Cornell University’s Good Samaritan Policy to have dramatically increased the amount of 911 calls related to overdoses, while drug use at the school remained relatively constant. Close to 100 colleges nationwide and the entire state of New Mexico have enacted Good Samaritan Policies, and similar legislation has been introduced in Illinois, Maryland, Rhode Island, and Washington.

More information about Good Samaritan Policies can be found at http://www.ssdp.org/goodsamaritan

SPEECH DELIVERED BY RANDY HENCKEN, FOUNDER OF SDSU SSDP

Good morning,

Before me are 77 chairs and 77 diplomas, each representing a young person who was recently a student here at SDSU, but who is no longer with us. 2 of them were recently lost to tragic, yet preventable drug overdoses. And 75 of them were arrested as part of yesterday's reactionary drug sting.

77 students are gone from campus, but we must ask ourselves, has drug abuse left the campus as a result? Are students any safer from dying of an entirely preventable drug overdose? Sadly, the answer to both questions is "No."

As students and parents who have seen the devastation that drug abuse can cause, we know that preventing abuse, addiction, and overdose is an essential undertaking. So it would be comforting for us to believe that yesterday's sensational arrests signal an end to drug abuse on this campus.

But we've seen those big piles of drugs and money on our TV screens before, over and over again, for the past 3 decades, and the availability of drugs has not changed. So long as students have a desire to use illegal drugs, and so long as the policy of prohibition sustains a lucrative black market, drug stings will do little more than create openings for others to step in and supply these drugs. If anything, new dealers will probably come from off campus, be better armed, and present a greater threat to SDSU students.

Are we defending the students' decision to break the law? Of course not. But we must question a system of prohibition that lures entrepreneurial students into becoming drug dealers, and which will continue to do so even after we lock up hundreds of our peers.

SDSU should instead pursue effective alternatives that actually address drug abuse problems, including overdose.

Good Samaritan Policies are such an example. These policies, which are being adopted by colleges with increasing frequency, protect students who call for help during overdose emergencies. It is a policy that has been proven to save lives. In fact, researchers found Cornell University's Good Samaritan Policy to have dramatically increased the amount of 911 calls related to overdoses, ensuring that students' safety remains the school's top priority.

And if that's what this is really all about -- improving the safety of students on campus -- then the biggest tragedy of all is that this drug sting will make students more hesitant to call for help during overdose emergencies, placing even more students at risk.

SDSU officials can ensure that this doesn't happen by enacting a life-saving Good Samaritan Policy immediately.

Thank you.