Introduction
Drug and substance abuse are significant problems that affect the college and campus youths.
Teens frequently commence taking tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs during the middle school years. Many college students perceive college life as an experimentation life of narcotics. They consider the new social norms from celebrities and peer influences. A smaller number of students start during the elementary school. The international survey data says that three over four of the students are binge drinking or being drunk in the last 25 years (Zacny et al., 222). The students go to a far extent of using hard drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, opium among others.
Marijuana is reported to be the most commonly abused illicit drug among the college students. The use of drug ecstasy has substantially increased among the American teenagers. The drug and substance abuse among the youths acts as a b
...arrier to the achievement of academic objectives. The drugs have enormous adverse effects among the college students.
The most abused drugs include alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, opium, cigarettes, and cocaine among others. This paper discusses illegal drug users among the college students and the effects (influence) they have in their life. Many educators recognize that drug and alcohol abuse among students are significant barriers to the achievement of educational objectives. Furthermore, federal and state agencies and local school districts frequently mandate that schools provide health education classes to students, including content on drug and alcohol abuse.
The Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program is a comprehensive federal initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Education, which is designed to strengthen programs that prevent the use of alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and violence in and around the nation's
schools (Johnston et al, 37). Under this program, federal funding always provides funds to district schools. The area schools develop comprehensive prevention and education plans.
The project involves teachers, members of society, students and parents. The schools are therefore the key focus as far as drugs and substance use is concerned.
Root Causes of Substance Abuse in Colleges
Several factors make college student to indulge in drugs. These include stress, curiosity, course load and peer pressure. When a student is encountering the high demand for part time jobs, coursework, social obligations and internships, he or she may turn to drugs as a way to cope with the situation.
Many students usually take drugs to stay awake to complete assignments by their due dates. These drugs are obtained without a legitimate prescription. In tertiary learning institutions, college students are learning new aspects of their lives in professional and personal realms. It is not considered right to indulge yourself into drug experimentation.
Peer pressure is the key determinant of substance abuse in colleges (Wechsler, 45). Negative peer pressure from your friends to indulge in drugs can have substantial adverse consequences.
Drugs Abused in Colleges
The commonly used drugs by university students and university include tobacco, alcohol, and other illicit drugs. These tertiary institutions are under increased scrutiny due to policies from educational and governmental policies. (Freudenberg et al, 1732) This issue is catapulted into the front line of the national agenda since it has affected the college students. Drug abuse in colleges is a ubiquitous problem for students.
Alcohol is the most abused drug. The drug continues to pose tremendous challenges to tertiary education. Statistics show that on average, the campus
students drink 4.5 drinks per week in an estimation of 2 to 5 colleges. The drug has catastrophic health, psychological and education consequences. The drug results in uninhibited and unplanned sexual behaviors.
This can lead to transmission of STIs. Alcoholism results in a fight, injury and death from drinking and driving, suicide and alcohol poisoning. College students usually consume intermittent tobacco. The students smoke cigars and cigarettes. Consumption of smoking is linked to catastrophic health effects. The other illicit drugs consumed by college student include cocaine, opium, steroids, hallucinogens, amphetamines and designer drugs.
The drugs have a broad range of health, economic, psychological and social effects.
Influence of Illegal Drugs on College Community
Illicit drugs used in college by students have got influence to them academically. Alcohol and illegal drug abuse is a major problem in college communities. Since most students are identified as heavy drinkers and drug abusers according to researchers as a result of drug addiction and alcohol use in college and universities, most students have serious, serious, influence both individually and at college levels (Bruce, 122). The impact of drugs on students includes. Decrease in academic performance, economic impact such as being financially challenged, health effects, legal repercussions, social impacts among others as discussed below,
Decreased Academic Performance
Most of those students addicted to illegal drug use show a change in academic performances.
Decreasing in performance is most probably one of the first sign to notice on students who are using drug or alcohol among the college community. Substance abuse causes their grades to slide since the students find it difficult to be able to keep up with studies meaning that they cannot perform to
the best of their abilities. This affects their academic performance in school. It is true that most of the habits of drug addicts in the college might make them miss classes, lectures or examination, they utilize most of their time with their friends.
Drug and alcohol abuse might cause a college student to spend a lot of time in bed and fail to attend classesā or examinations because they have a hangover. Due to peer influence, they would opt to be partying with friends and not go to class (Broderick, 120). The decrease in performance may result in disciplinary action to the students including expulsion from the college. Creating financial problems and legal troubles.
A student might be discontinued to participate in games and sports or even giving up on one's hobbies. Drug and substance abuse highly affects a student academic life, and if not controlled they might lead to school dropouts.
Physical and Psychological Impact of Drug Abuse
Overusing of drugs may result in a death of an individual. According to researchers on average college students of 18 to 24 die every year due to drug and substance-related injuries.
Most of the drug abusers in college die in car accidents due to car accidents driving while drunk, suicide or as a result of violence caused by substance abuse. Drugs not only cause death, but they also have a substantial impact on your physical and psychological health; they damage oneās body organs (Brodrick, 119). For instance, use of the illegal drug causes brain dysfunction and changes your perceptions, personal emotions, and senses apparently making the drug user prone to taking dangerous or unnecessary risks and even lead to
mental health disorders such as depression. Those who start using drugs during their college years are more likely to develop a substance abuse problem later in life. Drug abusers give attention to medication than anybody else that includes family and friends. College students who abuse drugs may end up losing friendship and family due to these choices.
Parents and companions need to look as the drug abuser pulls away and the impacts of substance abuse attack their body and brain (Taheri, 22). Also, one of the reactions of drug utilize might be unusual, bizarre, conduct that further isolates the drug addicts from their friends and family. Friends and relatives are the people involved in motivating a student on his or her studies. Friends in college are those people they discuss academic issues together and once they are lost. It results in total failure in the class. Drug injecting mostly used by college students has a higher probability of spreading HIV/Aids among the drug abusers.
The student's immune system becomes weak, and it might affect the studentsā academic life. A group of students who abuse drugs might be affected psychologically, due to an increase in the desire of using the drugs and valuing them over everything else. Students with drug craving focus mostly on how to get the drugs. They get preoccupied with where they will get these drugs and the means they will use to buy the drugs another challenge they have here is where they will get the drug and when they can be using the drug (Simon, 70). It affects own moods as one might be depressed or anxious on when they can next use
the drug.
Financial Impact
Alcohol and substance abuse have an adverse economic impact on college students; they need to have money to buy the drugs and alcohol. This gets some students off guard because the majority are financially strapped, and making a choice to spend money on drugs or alcohol means that they might utilize money to buy books or food or and other academic support material in buying drugs (Klaw, 578). Students are even tempted of using their tuition fee in purchasing drugs and partying. Later the student after using the charge for the illegal purpose might be unable to continue with the studies due to payment problem.
Legal Considerations
The law is everywhere students involved in drug and substance abuse having to know this.
Similar to losing their money, suffering from poor health and failing in classes a student abusing illegal drugs might face legal consequences too. College students might be subjected to disciplinary action like being suspended from the college or even being arrested (Teunissen, 45). Illegal use of drugs is a crime, so like any other person found taking illegal substances should undergo legal consequences, depending considering the type of drug they were abusing, selling possessing. Some drugs like bhang are considered illegal, and the students caught using it might be arrested or fined.
Impact on Social Life
Substance abuse in college can potentially cause the addicts in the college to become isolated. Mostly this occurs when one shuts him or herself out from the rest of their world. Resulting to affecting their physical health, not only does it help the body deteriorate but also in some cases, oneās body becomes so dependent on
the drug of their choice (Bruce, 123). The drug addicts body eventually depends on it as we depend on food and water, and the mental effects it has on someone can be the individual may dwell on a negative past or occasion going on presently in their lives. Also, it may bring about the person to organize all the wrong things throughout their life, and need say in many cases addicts will surrender what at one time most necessary to.They keep themselves occupied at a steady stream and abandon themselves no opportunity to share into their addictions, and put you on individuals who don't share in any of the addictions the someone who is addicted has, additionally endeavor to make extraordinary upgrades for yourself.
That keeps you far from the addictions you have, all things considered, keep yourself as busy with other activities expected under the circumstances while enhancing your way of life and yourself as a person (Klaw,579). People take drugs to socialize, celebrating, and relaxing. Drugs have got a strong effect on people. Drug and substance abuse effects vary from one person to another, based on How one takes the drugged drink, one's age ones health and family history among other factors such as financial status.
Using some drugs like alcohol might necessarily not be a problem, but drinking too much may lead to consequences, thus increasing the risk for a lot of challenges. In college and universities, most of the students who involve themselves in drug and substance abuse face some challenges. The students face the financial problem, of course, they need money to buy drugs. They have decreased in academic performance because they
might lack time to attend classes. Drug abusers face physical and physiological impacts the drugs have health effects on the abusers and they as well affect them emotionally (Teunissen, 46). Students involved in substance abuse activities are against the law, and one challenge they face is legal considerations.
Drug and substance abuse in college affect the students' social life, the student's loose friends. Due to the influence of drugs and substance abuse students might cause violence within the learning institution and either harm themselves or fellow students (Arria,118).They threaten to destroy the school assets such as burning hostels which may cause mayhem and chaos in the institution. Drug and substance abuse in college may highly influence the college community by creating fears to the other students and even the administration of the university.
Impacts on the Social Society
Many college students are drug addicts. The student always abuses drugs and leave the surroundings to an unknown fate.
The students who do tobacco always pollute the air. This makes the environment uncomfortable and unsafe place to dwell in for the other students. This can cause allergy among other health conditions to the active and passive individuals. The college students recklessly dispose alcohol cans all over in the environment. Through this, the students pollute the surroundings and make it unsafe to stay. When the students are under drug influence, they can cause unnecessary noise, and therefore interrupting other people activities.
The students may engage themselves in a quarrel and unwelcomed fights in the society. This results in the lack of peace and harmony in the surroundings. The student can contract serious injuries, and this may lead to death. Due to
lack of peace in the society caused by these scenarios, several students have face cases and fines in the court of laws. Other students have even been jailed for not observing the stipulated drug laws.
Imprisonment distorts the studentās academic life and therefore a significant loss. Many students have been expelled and discontinued from schools due to drug scandals. This has led to incapacitation in the studentās life. In colleges and university, a student under drug influences causes chaos, violations, boycotts, and strikes. This can result in an additional closure of the institution.
This issue usually affects the other studentsā studies. Research from the Federal Bureau of Investigation dictates that drug and substance use cause many deaths among students (Wechsler, 55). This is highly articulated to illegal activities that occur under drug influence.
Approaches to Drug and Drug Abuse
Several methods to drug and drug use prevention and education programs have been implemented in school settings.
The plans involve dissemination of crucial information about substance addiction. The program also stipulates legal and social consequences associated with the abuse. The contemporary approaches considered include competence enhancement programs and political resistance programs. The plans focus more on associative skills interactive skills training techniques and didactic instructions. The critical approach is conceptualized on etiology of drug abuse and is always subjected to empirical testing (Zacny et al, 220).
The method is categorized into universal programs that aim at the general population, for instance, particular school. Selective programs always target the high-risk groups (poor school achievers); lastly indicated plans are generated for youth already indulging in high risk behaviors and experimenting with drugs.
Information Dissemination Approach
Information dissemination is the commonly used approach
to drug and substance abuse education. It involves disclosing factual and exact information about abuse of medications.
The information approach methods demonstrate dangers of substance abuse by using fear arousal techniques (Johnston et al, 36). The technology is designed to capture the attention and threaten individuals into not using drugs. The information approaches include classroom lectures and talks. The approach provides printed materials and educational pamphlets, the short film about drug and drug abuse.
Some programs entail police officers coming into the classroom and disclose penalties for purchasing illegal drugs and law enforcement issues related to this. These approach methods have shown positive impacts on the youth drug abuse life. The approaches have changed some lives of several youths
Modern Educational Approaches
Social resistance approach is highly considered since psychological and social factors are the core factors that promote abuse of illicit drugs. Drug prevention approaches are closely tied up to psychological theories of human behavior.
The social approach is strategized on drug abuse resulting from negative peer influence, media portrayals and convincing advertising appeals (Freudenberg et al, 1730). The social control programs at teaching the college students on how to increment resistance to negative social influence, in particular peer pressure. The method considered in this approach is to have students learn how to keep off from risk situations that may make them indulge in drugs. The proposal contains prodrug abuse influences from the media which stresses on the awful methods used by advertisers to influence consumer behaviors. The programs usually correct the normative expectations that nearly everyone takes the conventional drugs.
This approach method has been very effective. The approach has promoted drug abuse resistance education and drug-free
curriculum programs in the colleges. The competence enhancement procedure stipulates that substance abuse is learned through imitation, modeling, and reinforcement of beliefs, attitudes, and cognitions (Wechsler, 45). These factors increase college student susceptibility to social influences in association with drug use.
This approaches emphasis on teaching social coping skills and emphasizes on general personal self-management skills. Examples of these skills include problem-solving skills, decision making, and cognitive skills for resisting media influences and enhance self-esteem. The approach stipulates useful strategies to deal with stress and anxiety. The approach has demonstrated effectiveness in testing the efficacy in drug abuse prevention. Some challenges create hindrance to the efficacy of this method.
The programs that have proved to have deep impacts on the student lives have not been well implemented. Research-based programs are more considered, yet they have the less positive impact on the students. The most practical approaches have not been adopted, disseminated and institutionalized.
Policies to Prevent Alcoholism in Colleges
Well, stipulated procedures, focused policies, data gathering, referral methods, counseling, and prevention strategies enable schools to address substance abuse in colleges. Local, state and federal government prove a significant role in bolstering education efforts to terminate substance abuse in tertiary institutions (Zacny et al, 220). Several acts such as drug-free schools and communities of 1989 and parent notification law are observed to the maximum.
The government aims at curbing all the drug supplier activities to tertiary institutions. Specialized advocacy groups and task forces providing national financial support to control the drug abuse activities in universities. Colleges are tightening the obligations and regulations and strengthening the academic qualifications. The institution also adjusts course scheduling. Paradigm programs have been established to
reduce substance abuse among the students.
Creative and versatile approaches are available in colleges to address issues related to drug addiction. Health improvement drugs have been generated to aid students from drug and substance use. The programs involve counseling and provision of relevant education. Health rehabilitation programs have also been established to ensure that students who are drug addicts are highly assisted. The program provides mentorship to help the drug addicts recover and rehabilitate. This takes some time.
The programs are fighting incapacitation issues among students who are drug addicts. In conclusion, drug and substance use has adversely affected the studentās life. College and university students should use their time to do productive activities and projects related to their life. The students should say no (abstain) to drug and substance use.
Laws related to drug and substance use should be strengthened and observed well. This will help curb the increased substance abuse among the college students.
Works Cited
- Johnston, Lloyd D., et al. "Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 2010- 2011. Volume II, College Students & Adults Ages 19-50."Institute for Social ResearchĀ (2011).
- Freudenberg, Nicholas, et al. "Coming home from jail: the social and health consequences of community reentry for women, male adolescents, and their families and communities."Ā American journal of public healthĀ 95.10 (2015): 1725-1736.
- Wechsler, Henry. "Alcohol and the American college campus: A report from the Harvard School of Public Health."Ā Change: The Magazine of Higher LearningĀ 28.4 (2016): 20-60.
- Zacny, James, et al. "College on Problems of Drug Dependence taskforce on prescription opioid non-medical use and abuse: position statement."Ā Drug and alcohol dependenceĀ 69.3 (2013): 215-232. .
- Arria, Amelia M., et al.
"Marijuana use trajectories during college predict health
outcomes nine years post-matriculation."Ā Drug and alcohol dependenceĀ 159 (2016): 158-165.
"Predicting risk factors for intimate partner violence among post-9/11 college student veterans."Ā Journal of interpersonal violenceĀ 31.4 (2016): 572-597.
