Effects Of Substance Abuse On Campus

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.

Prescription drug abuse among college students is a growing trend on most campuses. Students are using these drugs inappropriately to not only “get high”, but to help with concentration when cramming for papers or tests, to self-medicate for anxiety or depression, and even to enhance their stamina when playing sports. Many people have stereotypes of what an alcoholic or addict is, and most people don't associate that image with young students. Although drug education has been mandatory in the US throughout grade school drug use continues to rise in college students. College is known as a time for experimentation, but for some students experimentation can turn

Bruffee unsuccessfully grabbed my attention because his persuasive ways were weak and ineffective. I find his persuasiveness to be imprecise with no correlation between binge drinking and loneliness to which he refers as due to the lack of friends and being unfamiliar to school grounds led him to join a fraternity. For instance, his claims are supported based on personal experiences and personal observations such as students having difficulty of making a new group of friends, desperate to belong and academic background. Unlike Weschler, Bruffee does not use scientific studies, real examples and realistic solutions to adequately connect binge drinkers and introverts; therefore, Bruffee is less successful because he failed to support many of his claims, and his conclusion is incomplete.

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).

“According to the CDC, about 90% of all teen alcohol consumption occurs in the form of Binge Drinking, which experts say peaks at the age of nineteen.” (qtd by Listfield). Binge Drinking is the consumption of excessive amounts of alcohol in a short period of time. The author, Emily Listfield, defines that the standard alcohol consumption over a two hour period is considered to be four beers for women and five beers for men. This has become a great distraction for college students nationwide and a major dilemma on college campuses. Nearly two hundred thousand students visit emergency rooms each year due to the abuse of alcohol, and more than one thousand seven hundred students die. In the article “ The Underage Drinking Epidemic”, Listfield identifies the problems that underage drinking can cause, the dangers that could happen, and four solutions on what parents can do to keep their kids from binge drinking.

Alcohol is one of the most commonly used drugs in the United States today. Sixty-three percent of Americans over the age of 18 said they have consumed alcohol at least once in the past year, (National, 2001). A survey, conducted by the Core Institute, of 55,026 college students, ranging from freshmen to seniors to non-seeking degree students, from across the United States showed that 84.1% of students consumed alcohol at least once a year and that 72.1% of students

Recreational use of prescription drugs amongst high school teens has been a continuous discussion within the public health community due to its severity. High school teens that involve themselves with prescription drugs abuse are susceptible to both short-term effects and long-term effects. According to the article, Opioids Complications and Side Effects, “Common side effects of opioid administration include sedation, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, constipation, physical dependence, tolerance, and respiratory depression” (Benyamin et al. 2008). Because a medical professional prescribes prescriptions drugs, many teens think it is okay to consume the medication (cite, here). The teens that partake in this dangerous activity do not understand that

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, binge drinking is defined as the consumption of five or more drinks for males and four or more drinks for females consecutively in the same day, within a two-hour period. Problem drinking seems to be a phenomenon highly present amongst the college-age population. However, not a lot of focus has been given to the negative impacts that come along with binge drinking on college grounds. Having encountered multiple clients reporting problems with alcohol consumption while in college sparked an interest in working with this population in order to have a broader understanding of what should be a major concern.

Substance abuse is when a person want their mind to be altered with the use of drugs. Substance

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.

According to the Diagnostic Statistic Manual 5 (DSM-5) substance use disorder is when the individual has a dependency on alcohol or drug, followed by penetrating craving and antisocial behavior to acquire the substance. The terms substance abuse and substance dependence refer to substance use disorder, which has been separated into three classifications as follows

The researchers had hypothesized that students living off campus would consume more alcohol than students living on campus. But as the data has shown that hypothesis had to be rejected. The researchers accepted the null hypothesis that there is little to no difference in alcohol consumption based on residency status. Meaning that there was almost an equal number of students who drank while living on campus as students who drank while living off campus. The results are significant because it shows that residency status of students does not have a direct effect on the amount of alcohol consumed.

Set in an urban area from its inception, GHS has always had some, albeit minimal, presence of drugs. Traditionally there would be a few students only in attendance at school with the intention to sell marijuana. And then occasionally the student who chooses to come to school under the influence of marijuana. GHS harboring a strict zero tolerance policy would send these students, with due process, to the district's alternative education center. In 2016 there was a cut in the number of available seats for each high school campus. High schools went from a 50 seat allotment to 25 seats per campus. Later that same year, a well known athlete, staple of the school community was killed on his way to school one early fall morning. Finally, the campus has been reduced to 1 police officer to service the overflowing population of students. These are just a few of the perceived contributors to the 45% increase in drug related infractions and 20 % increase in the number of criminal offenses on campus.

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.

Substance abuse is the use of a drug in which a consumer consumes a drug in amounts harmful to himself or using dangerous methods to himself or others around him to consume the drug. Drug addiction on the other hand is the overdependence and use of a drug regardless of its harmful consequences.