CUSU’s Women’s Campaign have “officially disaffiliated” a Facebook group, after it was revealed by The Tab that it had been used to share prescription drugs, among them anti-depressants, acne medication and conceptive pills.

Formerly known as the “CUSU WomCam Self-Care Tips” group, it is used by self-defining women and non-binary students to offer advice and share experiences in order to help members in terms of self-care – including dealing with mental health issues. However, the group appears to have also been used to exchange prescription drugs such as citalopram and fluoxetine without a prescription.

While some have voiced their alarm at this revelation, a member of the group speaking to Varsity attested to the group being “a beautiful place full of love, support and self-appreciation.”

In the group’s description, its administrators requested student journalists not to “write publicly about anything in the group”, stressing that “the group is *not* a public space and shouldn’t be treated as such”. 

There has been an angry response since The Tab published the exposé on Wednesday. Speaking to Varsity, a second-year student and member of the group said: “This a complete violation of privacy. It’s disgusting [...] putting the members, some of whom are in vulnerable mental states, shows a lack of respect and compassion.

“This group is not a place for women to get medication. The author has isolated specific posts (which aren’t that prevalent) and accused members of facilitating a dangerous situation.”

While possession of prescription drugs is not a criminal offence unless they are specifically classified under the Misuse of Drugs Act, the sale of prescription drugs is limited to those with a prescription from an appropriate practitioner.
Taking medication for which you do not personally have a prescription has been branded as dangerous, as many drugs come with all manner of grave possible side-effects. Professor Steve Field, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, has previously condemned the sharing of prescription medications, describing how “The sharing of drugs in this way is inherently dangerous because neither the patient who was first prescribed the medication nor the person now taking them will understand the drug or its side effects.” He added that “Those taking them are putting themselves at risk of harm or even death.”

On this point, the member of the group who spoke to Varsity said that “I appreciate that on the surface this seems dangerous, but members only ask for a dose of medication in emergency situations, and usually someone agreeing to help another asks for proof of their prescription first.”

In a statement, the CUSU executive said that they did not endorse messages in the group “as they may be counter to students’ wellbeing” and that “CUSU exists to defend and extend student welfare at Cambridge University”. They also indicated that they would be working with WomCam to “ensure the wellbeing of Cambridge students is consistently safeguarded”.

Speaking to Varsity, CUSU Women’s Officer Charlotte Chorley said that they are “awaiting decisions from the moderators of the group as to how will they proceed”.

However, in a statement, the Women’s Campaign stressed that the group “has directional and political autonomy” from CUSU and that “bar funding, CUSU has no influence over the workings and communications of the Women’s Campaign”.

CUSU President Priscilla Mensah has previously said that CUSU cannot tell its autonomous campaigns and groups what to do, though the CUSU executive’s latest statement does “remind students that help and support is always available either through the CUSU-GU Welfare Officer or through the Students’ Unions’ Advice Service”.