Stanford Lecturer Probed in Drug Case : Inquiry: Bob Martinez, new U.S. ‘drug czar,’ warned school about possible loss of funding over teacher’s open defiance of laws.

Stanford University, already embroiled in controversy for its seemingly lavish use of federal grant money, has launched an investigation into the drug use and drug advocacy of a popular lecturer.

Stanford officials confirmed Saturday that the School of Engineering placed computer science lecturer Stuart Reges on administrative leave Friday after receiving a warning from new federal “drug czar” Bob Martinez that it could lose all federal funding because of the lecturer’s open defiance of drug laws.

Reges will remain on leave pending an investigation into the lecturer’s statements that he carried drugs on campus and by other accounts had counseled a student to experiment with MDA, a synthetic hallucinogen sometimes refered to as a “love drug.”

The action was spurred by a letter in which Martinez, the newly installed director of the Office of Drug Control Policy, pointedly reminded Stanford University President Donald Kennedy that receipt of federal funds hinged on the university’s adherence to drug prevention policies under the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act.

“In all candor, I would find it beyond comprehension that a man who openly professes to have encouraged an undergraduate to ingest MDA could continue to enjoy faculty privileges at a pace-setting institution as Stanford University,” Martinez said in the letter. “I’m sure you share my distress.”

Martinez’s warning had been prompted by a defiant challenge from Reges. The lecturer sent the drug policy director a letter dated March 28 that described his drug use and drug advocacy, including copies of articles he had written for the Stanford Daily, published Nov. 8, and previous letters to another federal official.

“In brief I disagree with the government’s anti-drug campaign and I am doing everything I can to make fools of you,” Reges said in the letter. “I still carry illegal drugs in my backpack while on campus. . . . I do not fear any of you, I have not changed my behavior, and nothing has happened to me.”

Terry Shepard, a Stanford spokesman, said that in a conversation with Reges, the lecturer did not deny making claims that he advised an undergraduate to try MDA and or that he had used university money to buy alcohol for students under the age of 21 at a dinner.

Efforts to reach Reges were unsuccessful. The Washington Post quoted Reges as saying that he felt “stunned” by the reaction to his letter: “If the university is going to fire people who advocate drug use, it’s ludicrous, the war on drugs has gone much too far. . . . This is a free-speech issue. It seems that university staffers are not allowed to express an opinion. It’s a tremendous threat to intellectual freedom.”

According to the Washington Post article, Reges disputed assertions that he had encouraged a student to use MDA and said he simply advised the student that concerns about MDA being addictive or that it could cause him to “lose control” were unjustified.

MDA is an amphetamine derivative said to produce feelings of euphoria. “About the most dangerous thing you might do under the influence of MDA that you wouldn’t do otherwise would be to hug or kiss someone,” Reges wrote in the Stanford Daily article.

Reges followed that with a Nov. 28 letter to Ronald Bucknam, the head of drug prevention programs in the Department of Education, in which he described his Stanford Daily articles. “As I suspected, Stanford hasn’t responded to my article,” he said.

In a letter to Bucknam dated March 26, Reges criticized the recent seizure of drugs at the University of Virginia by federal authorities as “pathetic,” “desperate” and “illogical.” He also noted that he had since received “a call from a Stanford drug counselor” who disagreed with his views and activities.

Associates of Reges described him as an excellent and popular instructor. Steve Fisher, a former student and a computer science instructor, described Reges as “a great guy” and “the best teacher I ever had” and a person who feels “strongly about the responsible use of drugs.”

“Ninety-nine percent of the students would say he’s one hell of a teacher,” said Raj Dutta, a computer science graduate who was studying under Reges.

The controversy breaks at a delicate time for Stanford. The university and the federal Office of Naval Research, which oversees U.S. research monies at the school, are negotiating about the rate of reimbursement Stanford should get for research overhead.

There is speculation that Stanford faces a drop in funding because it billed the government for such items as depreciation on a yacht and antiques for its president’s residence.

Times staff writers Larry Gordon in Los Angeles, and Chris Elliott in San Francisco and correspondent Manjusha Pawagi at Stanford University also contributed to this article.