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story by Shea Northcut
Reporter
Photos and graphics
MCT Campus
MISCONCEPTIONS
AND PERCEPTIONS
OF LEGAL AND
ILLEGAL DRUGS
ON COLLEGE
CAMPUSES
was the scariest moment of my life,” explained an Elon sopho-
- ~ more. “I woke up and my body was shaking, I had no idea what
was going on ... all I knew was that I needed to gain control of my
^ life and get rid of this addiction.”
Starting his junior year of high school, the student began taking Ad-
derall, a prescription stimulant drug that helps with Attention Deficit Dis
order. Diagnosed at the age of 3, he had a hard time focusing and felt
socially awkward in many instances. He entered high school and noticed
some of his friends taking this drug and decided it might be effective for
him.
“As soon as I began taking it, my grades dramatically improved from a
3.0 to a 3.7 GPA,” he said. “I could finally take the honors and AP classes
that I wanted and made the grades that I always
dreamed of making without experiencing any
side effects, at first.”
Gradually, he began noticing a shift in his per
sonality, body and overall attitude about life.
The side effects began picking up a year later
when he felt physically ter
rible, faced depression and regularly dealt with insom
nia. When coming into college, he realized he couldn’t
function without this prescription, but also knew it was
time to make a change.
“It got to the point that the bad things were outweigh
ing the advantages when taking the drug,” he said. “1
came to the point of realizing that my well-being is
more important than my grades and I had to change or
else I would eventually hurt myself.”
This student ultimately decided to stop using Adder-
all and switched to a less addictive prescription drug,
Vibiance. He brought the extra Adderall that he had left
over to school, and help others when they need to be
extra attentive.
“It is now socially accepted to use prescription drugs
recreationally,” he said. “The majority of people I know
have used, or are currently using, these types of drugs
to help them, especially during exam time. I don’t see
it as (harmful) by giving them these because the sec
ondary effects fall later in the use or abuse of these
drugs.”
The rising social norm of the abuse of both legal and
illegal drugs is sweeping the college scene and has in
creased during the past decade. By observing the actual
perceptions of drug use on campus, misconceptions are
cleared and the process that a student may face is bet
ter understood.
The student used spoke on the condition of anonymity.
ncem
54 percent thought students drink on one or more days, and 43 percent
thought students drink daily.
In actuality, 17 percent of students don’t drink, 15 percent of studentt
didn’t drink within the past 30 days and 30 percent of students never plan
to drink. Because numbers are high for the use of alcohol on campus, Elon
actively strives to combat the problem.
“We need to focus on our campus and we need to let students know
what the issues are and try to help them out now before they get out
in the real world,” Martin said. “We are here to prepare students for a
healthy life both in and out of college.”
FROM A NATIONAL TO A LOCAL PERSPECTIVE
It was shown in a recent study done by the National Center on Addiction
and Substance Abuse at Columbia University that nearly half of America's'
5.4 million full-time college students abuse drugs or binge drink at least'
once a month. When looking into the drug use at Elon in a local study-
done by the National College Health Assessment, 62.7 percent of students,
reported that they have never smoked pot, 20.7 percent have used maw
juana, but not in the last 30 days, and 7 percent used it
one to two days within the past 30 days.
Overall, 95 percent of Elon students report not us
ing cocaine, and 98 percent of students report refrain
ing from the use of ecstasy. Although alcohol statistics
remain high and use of undercover prescription drugs
may be unknown, the use of hard drugs on campus sinks
below the national average according to rece-fit findiri|s
of the NCHA study.
ALCOHOL USE AND ABUSE
“Alcohol is the biggest drug issue that is found on
our college campus,” said Lauren Martin, coordinator
for substance education Lauren Martin.
According to the National Center on Addiction and
Substance Abuse at Columbia University, 40 percent
of full-time college students binge drink and/or abuse
prescription and illegal drugs. It was found in 2001 that
more than 1,700 students died from alcohol-related
injuries. In reviewing the causes of high-risk drinking
on campus, the NL\AA Task Force on College Drinking
(2002) described the problem as a “culture of drinking" among college
and university students.
“Elon struggles with this issue more than ever,” Martin said. “We are
actually higher than the national average on high-risk drinking.”
The report from Elon s Presidential Task Force on Alcohol indicates
the most recent Core Alcohol and Drug Survey data says Elon students
“drink almost twice the amount of alcohol per week” as students nation
ally. It is also shown that students who arrive on campus already have an
existing pattern of underage drinking. The 2004 Cooperative Institutional
Research Program Survey indicates the number of new students coming
mto Elon who drank in high school is nearly 20 percent higher than the
number of their peers in other institutes.
When Elon students were polled in the National College Health Assess
ment, a comprehensive health survey on drugs, sexual and mental health
and nutrition, the numbers were significantly skewed. After being asked
the question. Within the last 30 days, how often do you think students
used alcohol?” only 2 percent thought the typical student never drinks.
THE RISING
SOC^ NORM
OF THE ABUSE
OF BOTH
LEGAL AND
LEGAL DRUGS
IS SWEEPING
THE OOLLEGE
SCENE AND
HAS SEEN
AN INCREASE
OVER THE PAST
DECADE AS
PRESSURES
ARE COMING
AT STUDENTS
FROM ALL
ANGLES.
FINDING HELP
Before a student makes the progression to the abuse
of drugs and the viabihty of being caught, there are
ways for students to prevent this from happening. By
simply being a friend and recognizing signs of addic
tion, prevention can take place.
Jana Lynn Patterson, assistant vice president for stu
dent life, acts as a therapeutic intervention for students
to come to in times of trouble. With all judicial affain
pushed aside, Patterson explained how she helps students
by offering advice to prevent further repercussions.
“1 probably deal with about six or seven students po
year that are struggling,” Patterson said. “I will say to them
that I want to mcdce sure you cire Scife and to get you to the
right resources. By the time they come to me, they are al
most relieved to come because they are out of control anii
academics are gone ... they need structure and support."
Patterson said the main problem she observes with most
cases is students make decisions based on what is happen
ing currently rather than thinking on down the road.
“Through proper counseling and help, I find that
about 60 to 70 percent of the time, intervention works,’
said Patterson. “Most of the time, if we start the stu
dents with counseling then we get them thinking about
what they are doing and help them on their way to re
covery.”
COUNSELING SERVICES ’
Elon offers counseling services that struggling stu
dents can take advantage of when dealing with drug- ‘
related issues. Bruce Nelson, director of counseling set- '
^ces, explained how the services the health center offers are critical in ’
helping a student.
“Here at Elon, the counselors see around 10 percent of the student body'
students that face issues witb
substances, disordered eating behavior and depression ” ‘
thev K counseling face an assessment to see ho«;
center offers three main tracks fot^
treatment: direct service for everyone who
with famii,, t 1 . comes in, use collaboration
Temer Wl^ln p resources such as an outside counseling^
center. When asked if there was a rise in the number of cases the counsel
respond. ^
Is no^mlri complex situations come In here," he said. •«"
S ™TdrM^ 2 “ stress anti anxiety, par*
leiea With drug abuse and eating disorders.”
short^term*^crisis nri^^ full-time counselors, the health center focuses on
health centS iLo th. -'hr® "harge. Nelson said if th«
aitn center is not the right resource for the student, Elon links the®