College Drugs : College Drug Abuse

According to Skidmore, Kaufman and Crowell (2016), “substance use in college students is associated with poor academic performance, unintentional injuries, health problems, heightened rates of engagement in other risky behaviors, legal problems, increased risk of substance use and abuse in adulthood, and mortality” (p. 736). When analyzing higher education substance abuse programs, it is essential to have an understanding of the facts about college student substance abuse, including the dangers of substance abuse, the types of

Among college students, the overall use of drugs has significantly declined due to many laws and regulations that are enforced on the UF campus. Tobacco and smoking is prohibited. However, drug use off campus is not eliminated and may still cause problems with student learning capabilities. The most significant and commonly used drug by college students is marijuana. “Daily marijuana use among college-aged young adults is at its highest since 1980, surpassing daily cigarette smoking for the first time in 2014” (College).

Underage drinking is a problem within the US and has been for some time. No matter how hard many businesses try it still goes on because of the kid’s lucrative ways to obtain it. Many kids use fake IDs or have a person of age purchase it for them. This problem of alcohol abuse is most prominently seen it college. One college it often occurs at is Indiana University in Bloomington. The early habit of drinking alcohol can have many bad effects on one’s body at a young age and causes habits, decrease in grades, and other negative outcomes.

Since 1997, binge drinking has increased each year (Wechsler, Lee, & Kuo. 2010). Binge drinking is no stranger to San Jose State University as well as college campuses nationwide (Police Department, n.d.). Binge drinking has been on epidemic on college campuses and continues to grow over the course of time with alarming numbers of incidents that occur while under the influence. Since binge drinking is common on most college campuses, about 60% of students nationwide have stated that they have binge drank during their college years (College Drinking Fact Sheet, 2015).

Difficulty meeting academic responsibilities is one of the most common consequences of drug use and abuse. The relationship between drug use/abuse and the academic performance of college students rises every year that causes a critical issue on Colleges and Universities campus. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Task Force on College Drug reports that about 25 percent of college students report academic problems caused by drug use, such as earning lower grades, doing poorly on exams or papers, missing class dramatically, and falling behind. However, the history of drug abuse has been rooted in the early stages of life. Drug use/abuse has been classified as a major problem of students as early as in the fourth grade. Consequently, it

Today on college campuses, it is not possible to make it through college without knowing someone who has at least tried a prescription drug or recreational drug for either party uses, to help them study and keep up in school, or simply to help them get by day-to-day. Maybe you have tried them yourself? College students all across the nation are abusing substances such as Adderall, Vicodin, Oxycontin, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, etc. Those students who drink alcohol are more likely to use prescription drugs for non-medical uses than non-drinkers.

Summary: This article covers a wide variety of factors that result from the over abundant use of prescription stimulants on campuses around the United States. This includes the consequences of taking said drugs, specifically the medical, mental, and academic effects of stimulants. The author also points out four main reasons behind stimulant use on campuses. The first being the pressure of college life. Many students come into college thinking that it will be simple like high

High school is over and it is your first time away form home, what are you going to do? The typical college student wants to party! Of the people that were surveyed over half believed that the legal drinking age should be lowered. [O’Kane 1] The legal age to drink in the United States is now 21 years old; college freshman, sophomores, and some juniors are not of the legal age to drink. This causes a problem on many campuses; several students are experiencing their first time away from parental care in a setting sinonomus with drinking and clubbing. Some feel pressure from family and friends to receive excellent grades while attending school, sometimes the pressure is too much and going out and

Drug arrests on college campuses have become an escalating issue around the United States for several years. Rehabs.com is said to be a website that aids people overcome their addictions. I will get into more detail about this later in the paper. This same website conducted a study about colleges that included the most on-campus arrests, including those who occur in the residence halls. This was known as the rehabs.com report. This report was led by the Drugs on Campus Head Jon Millward. This report concludes that College at Oneonta in New York State tops the list in drug arrests on college campuses around the nation. Other SUNY colleges are mentioned in this report as well. SUNY schools include SUNY Fredonia, SUNY Oswego, SUNY Geneseo, SUNY Albany and a few others as well. In this paper I will primarily discuss in depth three main issues associated with the report and why these make the report very controversial. One point that I will be arguing in this paper will be that the report lacks an author and a publisher. Validity is not present in a report where the author and the publisher is missing. It makes us think that the information is unreliable, since it is unclear as to where it came from. The second point that I will be addressing is that I will discuss the importance of social media. The media has also many uses as well, such as to keep close contact with friends and to distribute information online quickly. The rehabs.com report was widely covered by the media,

7 out of 10 College students on campuses say that it is easy to collect stimulants without a prescription according to a survey done on eight U.S. campuses. 18% of freshmen and undergraduates tell of misusing prescription stimulants mostly Adderall. Most of the students get them from their friends and most of them say the usage of the drug is to help them to stay up to study or improve grades. One in four undergraduates report that they use pain medications, sedatives, or stimulants for the expirementopposite of medical reasons. The (HECAOD) conducted a survey which included 3,918 students which attended six public schools, and two public colleges and Universities in 5 different states. This survey included undergraduates, and professional students. ⅓ of all of them said it’s easy or extremely easy to obtain on multiple campuses.

On a college campus, it is a well-known fact that drugs are readily available in this day and age. If a student wants to get his hands on any type of drugs, there are ways he can do so. Drug use among college students may happen for a number of reasons. There is a lot of pressure that comes with having to perform well on exams. Some students will eventually break under this pressure and look for an outlet to ease their anxiety. One of these outlets could be common street drugs, it would allow them to escape the reality they are in and give them a short term sense of freedom. Free from their obligations and worries. Another reason may be because they want to fit into a certain social group and are being pressured to do so. Drugs are an addictive substance; after someone uses them once, it may be too late to turn back. Having a drug addiction is dangerous as it can damage many vital organs in your body and impair brain functions. Abusing drugs can be a life threatening issue and therefore should be taken seriously. If you believe a loved one or friend is having drug problems but doesn’t want to tell you, there are a few ways to find out for yourself.

Deans, professors, and those entrusted with the nation’s children tolerate the fraternity rushes and the beer consumption at football games as an inevitable part of campus life (Califano, “Tolerating a Culture of Substance Abuse”, “Why Students Drink and Take Drugs”). Students report that they take drugs to manage stress: “CASA surveyed a nationally representative sample of 2,000 students, who said they did so to relieve stress, relax, have fun, forget their problems and be one of the gang” (Califano, “Why Students Drink and Take Drugs”). Yet, taking drugs to manage stress seems to have the opposite effect. Drug and alcohol use is “linked to poor student academic performance, depression, anxiety, suicide, property damage, vandalism, fights and a host of medical problems” (Califano, “Tolerating a Culture of Substance Abuse”).

Alcohol and drug abuse has been an active habit among college students sense the 1960s. The immediate cause of this behavior was the youth’s need to rebel against the overly conservative American society. This rebellion led to a since of freedom for the young adults, which caused them to continue acting in these unintelligent manners. After a short period of time, late teens just did not belong if they were not participating in the mischievous acts. Substance abuse quickly became a way of life for many young adults. As a result, this inapt behavior still continues today.

Alcohol use among college students has always been a popular subject among teachers, parents, researchers, and even students. The actual act of drinking alcohol is not necessarily the problem, whether legal or not. The main problem is the act of binge drinking of college students, of age or not. Drinking modest amounts of alcohol may have some consequences, but binge drinking has more negative consequences than normal modest drinking. There are many examples as to the consequences that binge drinking can cause to college student’s lives, but one of the main consequences that students face as a result of frequent drinking is poor academic final grades.

College students are more likely to have problems with alcohol abuse or with alcoholism rather than with drug abuse or dependence; however, drug abuse is also a problem for many students. Some students are illicit abusers of prescription drugs, while others use illegal drugs: marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, and other drugs. Peer pressure and/or loneliness or other factors may lead college students to substance abuse, although some students had previously abused alcohol and/or drugs in high school.