UMass Amherst Ends Student Drug Informant Program

The chancellor of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst says he is immediately ending a program that allowed campus police to use students as drug informants.

Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy opened an investigation into the practice last September following a Boston Globe report about the death of an informant from a heroin overdose

The 20-year-old junior was found dead in his off-campus apartment in October 2013.

Subbaswamy said in a statement Thursday that using students as informants in drug investigations is "fundamentally inconsistent with our core values."

An outside review of the program was led by former Middlesex District Attorney Gerald Leone.

The review found that the program was too secretive, did not keep students' parents informed, did not allow students to consult a lawyer, and may have helped them avoid seeking drug treatment.