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Sex group looks at various myths

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Also by Mary Duke:

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by Mary Duke

Thursday, November 29, 2007

University of Wisconsin's Sex Out Loud addressed several myths about drugs and sex Wednesday in efforts to raise awareness on sexually transmitted diseases.

Kelly Gersonde, Sex Out Loud program facilitator, said UW needs to discuss the issue of drug use in order to recognize the potentially dangerous sexual health risks associated with it.

"Chances are you aren't going to ask your partner to use a condom when you are high on drugs," Gersonde said. "This leads to unsafe sex and the risk of getting any type of sexually transmitted disease."

Gersonde said there is a concerning misconception that drugs act as an agent to increased sexual behavior, and some people think they would perform better when engaging in sexual activity.

According to Gersonde, students should watch for Rohypol, also known as a roofie, a widely used date rape drug.

"It's a sedative drug that is commonly used in sexually assault because the victim does not know what happened up to four hours after taking the drug."

Chris Daniels, Sex Out Loud program director, said though law enforcement focuses on illicit drugs, they should also worry about legal drugs, like over-the-counter and prescription drugs.

"We have all heard about the war on drugs, but this discussion only involves these hard drugs," Daniels said. "Over-the-counter and prescription drugs, nicotine or alcohol is not included in this discourse."

Daniels said while there are many stories of parties that involve hard drug use, little attention is given to prescription drugs.

"In truth, you can actually achieve some of the same highs from taking prescription drugs that you get from some of the illicit drugs," Daniels said.

Prescription drugs' easy accessibility make them just as dangerous as illicit drugs, Daniels said.

"The reason why prescription drugs are really problematic is that they are really easy to get," Daniels said. "Think about what is in our medicine cabinets, and it is also relatively cheap. It is far cheaper to go to get Robitussin than cocaine."

Daniels said the accumulation of all types of drug use is presenting a big problem for society.

"Arrests for drug-use violations are happening in high frequency, and little news on rehab facilities are its success," Daniels said. "About 1.5 million offenses and arrests for drug law offenses took place this year."

According to Daniels, to combat this situation people need to learn, at a younger age, the seriousness of drugs and their effects on the body.

"We are not educating ourselves on the effects of these drugs," said Daniels. "A lot of times teenagers and students will overdose on these drugs because we don't talk about their effects."

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