How Drugs and Alcohol Affect Consent

The use of alcohol or other drugs is never an excuse for misconduct and never diminishes anyone’s responsibility to obtain affirmative consent. The use of alcohol or other drugs never makes someone at fault for experiencing gender-based misconduct.

The impact of alcohol or drugs varies from person to person and there is no specific amount of alcohol or drugs consumed that leads to incapacitation. The amount of alcohol and/or drugs a person consumes will not ordinarily be sufficient, without other evidence, to prove that they were incapacitated under this Policy. In evaluating whether a person is incapacitated due to alcohol, drugs, or any other intoxicant, the following factors will be considered:

• Whether the complainant understood the “who, what, when, where, why and/or how” of the sexual conduct; and
• How the complainant was physically affected by the consumption of alcohol or drugs, which may include, but is not limited to, slurred or incomprehensible speech, vomiting, unsteady gait, imbalance, bloodshot eyes, combativeness, emotional volatility, or notable change in personality.

Another effect of alcohol or drug consumption can be memory impairment or forgetting the entirety or portions of an event (sometimes referred to as “black-out” or “brown-out”). A person may experience this symptom while appearing to function “normally,” including communicating through words or actions that seem to express an interest in engaging in sexual conduct. Whether sexual conduct with a complainant who is “blacked-out” constitutes gender-based misconduct depends on the presence or absence of the observable factors that would indicate to a reasonable, sober person that the complainant is incapacitated. Total or partial loss of memory, without more, is insufficient to demonstrate incapacitation.

The use of alcohol or drugs can create an atmosphere of confusion and can lower inhibitions. All students should be aware of and carefully consider the potential consequences of alcohol or drug use, and of the potential consequences for engaging in sexual activity when anyone involved may be affected by alcohol or drugs. Every individual is responsible for ensuring there is mutual affirmative consent prior to engaging in sexual conduct regardless of whether their judgment may be impaired by the use of alcohol or drugs.