Police: UGA Professor Asked Student to Buy Drugs in Mexico

A University of Georgia psychology professor accused of asking a student to get him prescription drugs while on a spring break trip to Mexico has been arrested on three counts of possession of prescription drugs not in proper container and one count of attempt to obtain dangerous drugs through fraudulent means.

Professor Charles Lance allegedly asked a student to buy him bupropion while in Mexico, according to UGA Police Chief Jimmy Williamson. He described the medication as the “happy, horny, get skinny drug,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Instead of buying the drugs, the student told a faculty member, who in turn notified UGA police, reports the Athens Banner-Herald.

The student was initially conflicted on what to do, as the professor held a position of power over her.

“(Lance) placed her in a bad spot, because she was thinking how it might effect her academically if she refused him,” Williamson told the Athens paper. “He also placed her in the position of getting in trouble with authorities in Mexico and the United States.”

Investigators searched the professor’s office, where they located other prescription drugs not in their original containers, police said.

“The charges made in this case involve common prescription drugs and are not controlled substances,” Lance’s attorney, Elizabeth Grant, told AJC.com. “I have reviewed the criminal charges and am prepared to vigorously defend all allegations that Dr. Lance attempted to obtain medication by fraud or deceit.

“The remaining charges involve prescription medication being consolidated in a single bottle instead of stored in individual prescription bottles,” Grant said. “Many Georgians don’t realize the law requires them to keep prescriptions in their original labeled bottle rather than consolidating different prescriptions into one container.”

Lance, who teaches industrial-organizational psychology, was placed on administrative suspension.