2008 Woodie Awards
Students steadily abuse substances
Study shows that college students are sampling drugs at an alarming rate
Overstreet, Veronica
Issue date: 4/26/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
College students are experimenting with drugs at an increasing rate.
Columbia University's National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse released a report on March 15 entitled, Wasting the Best and the Brightest: Substance Abuse at America's Colleges and Universities.
The report measures the rate of substance abuse on college campuses.
According to the report, nearly half of all college students binge drink or abuse drugs, and the proportion of college students who abuse prescription drugs such as Percocet, Vicodin, and OxyContin has skyrocketed in recent years.
Nearly one in four students meet the medical criteria for substance abuse, two and one half times greater than the general population.
Between 1993 and 2005, the proportion of students abusing painkillers increased 343%, to a total 240,000 users. Use of cocaine, heroin, and other illegal drugs (except marijuana), is up 52 percent to 636,000 users.
The number of students using marijuana daily more than doubled, to 310,000.
This growing epidemic has shown it's ugly face here at Chabot. The Chabot Spectator recently received a call from an upset neighbor who lives on Chabot Ct. The caller complained that nearly every day she witnesses people smoking pot going in front of her house, and would like this problem addressed.
Not only is this behavior an unhealthy trend which interfers with educational goals, but is also an embarrassment, reflecting badly on all Chabot students.
Attending college is a privilege, and a responsibility that should not be taken lightly.
It is important for students to see the bigger picture; drug abuse affects one's ability to use their brain as effectively as is necessary to succeed in college, and in life.
Columbia University's National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse released a report on March 15 entitled, Wasting the Best and the Brightest: Substance Abuse at America's Colleges and Universities.
The report measures the rate of substance abuse on college campuses.
According to the report, nearly half of all college students binge drink or abuse drugs, and the proportion of college students who abuse prescription drugs such as Percocet, Vicodin, and OxyContin has skyrocketed in recent years.
Nearly one in four students meet the medical criteria for substance abuse, two and one half times greater than the general population.
Between 1993 and 2005, the proportion of students abusing painkillers increased 343%, to a total 240,000 users. Use of cocaine, heroin, and other illegal drugs (except marijuana), is up 52 percent to 636,000 users.
The number of students using marijuana daily more than doubled, to 310,000.
This growing epidemic has shown it's ugly face here at Chabot. The Chabot Spectator recently received a call from an upset neighbor who lives on Chabot Ct. The caller complained that nearly every day she witnesses people smoking pot going in front of her house, and would like this problem addressed.
Not only is this behavior an unhealthy trend which interfers with educational goals, but is also an embarrassment, reflecting badly on all Chabot students.
Attending college is a privilege, and a responsibility that should not be taken lightly.
It is important for students to see the bigger picture; drug abuse affects one's ability to use their brain as effectively as is necessary to succeed in college, and in life.
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