We had trekked far, far way from our South Complex dorm, and we were lost.

We walked north and south ceaselessly, searching for buildings, roads and street signs that looked familiar. After about 20 minutes, we found Grand River Avenue, which gave me a slight sense of comfort.

But when we hit Bogue Street, which I had never even heard of, we conceded defeat.

The winds were just too strong that night.

Fortunately, I came prepared for such an emergency. With two local taxi numbers stored in my cell phone, I summoned a cab to come and rescue us.

“Twenty minutes,” the operator said.

Waiting patiently for the cab to arrive, my friends and I waited by a random house near the intersection. Finally, a fashionable 15 minutes late, there it was — bright lights and everything. At last, we were going home.

So we thought.

As we approached the cab, painful screams loomed from the house behind us.

“Yo taxi! Yo taxi!” two kids yelled from their porch, one of them holding an exotically shaped object. “Come hit this!”

My friends and I looked on.

From a puff of hazy smoke, the driver emerged from this cab. He took a light jog over to the house, and moments later, he was indulging in this funny-shaped object. Two hits of what was described to me as a “gravity bong” and a chain of nasty coughs later, the driver was as baked as a Christmas ham. So instead of getting into the cab with him, my friends and I asked a passerby for directions. An hour later, we were home.

Although I figured this was an isolated incident, I promised myself that, barring an absolute emergency, I would never take a taxi in East Lansing again. Better safe than sorry, right? Well, I’d say so. According to reports, this isn’t the first time a cab driver has behaved like this.

Being so young at the time, I didn’t think to contact the company or police to report what had happened to me. Also, East Lansing Deputy police Chief Juli Liebler said in August nothing had been reported to the department regarding alleged drug use by cab drivers.

On Aug. 6, The State News reported that two former employees of Big Daddy Taxi, who now work for Shaggin’ Wagon Taxi, accused Big Daddy employees of smoking marijuana, driving under the influence of alcohol and handing out beer to MSU freshmen while on duty.

Big Daddy’s owner denied the accusations, insisting that the former employees made up the rumors in an effort to put him out of business. I don’t know who’s telling the truth. I don’t care who’s telling the truth. All I know is that where there’s smoke, there’s usually some fire.

Or in this case, an inferno.

Cab drivers who drink and smoke on the job seemed like a story idea I could pitch to HBO. It could be their next late-night taxi cab special. But, in all seriousness, the irresponsible nature of some of the these cab drivers poses an enormous safety threat to all residents in this community. People should have access to safe cab rides in this city whenever they want one. It’s mind numbing that they don’t.

To me, the cab drivers’ behavior isn’t even the most troubling issue here. To me, the scariest thing is that the city hasn’t done anything to mitigate this problem. It’s unfathomable that East Lansing, a city that stresses the importance of safety, has yet to enact stricter drug testing policies for licensed cab drivers.

After reading the aforementioned article in The State News, then-Mayor Sam Singh said he was very concerned about this issue. He apprised city officials and his fellow council members of the report during a City Council meeting in September.

In a State News report on Sept. 6, Singh said, “... these reports that I’ve heard from students, as well as other cab drivers, of potential drug and alcohol use while they’re driving is something that’s a great concern to me.”

City Manager Ted Staton said the city attorney’s office has been reviewing the issue the past few months.

There’s no doubt that the city wants to solve this issue — but where’s the sense of urgency? As soon as the city attorney’s office finishes its review of this situation, it’s imperative that the City Council work as hastily as possible to implement stronger, no-tolerance policies. Until they do, students could be at risk.

Alex Altman is a State News columnist and East Lansing reporter. Reach him at altmanal@msu.edu.