Drug and Alcohol Use on College Campuses

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Drug abuse has always been a problem in college and it is increasing more each year. Drugs are being used by students to alleviate stress and to get a break from the high demand put on them by classes, and also to focus on their studies in order to learn the material that they are being taught. Substance abuse is the biggest drug problem on college campuses. Alcohol is a drug and is included when drugs are mentioned. Drugs are so prevalent and widely-used on college campuses around the country for various reasons, but it is important that we reduce the amount of drug abuse by students. It is important that we prevent substance and drug abuse by college students because it is affecting the safety, learning, and success of all college students around the nation. Results of substance and drug abuse can range from missing class and failing exams to being sexually assaulted or even death. Each year, approximately 1,700 students enrolled in two- and four-year institutions die from alcohol-related causes, mostly due to motor vehicle crashes (Barry and Cell 2-2). More than 600,000 students are hit or assaulted by another drinking student, while an estimated 97,000 are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape (Barry and Cell 2-2). Sexual violence is a very serious problem on college campuses and many times goes unreported. This is because of the stigma that has been created in college that reporting a sexual assault is a negative thing. This is all centered on the perception or image of the institution, preserving future enrollment and money. Colleges and universities want to impress politicians, alumni, media, community members, parents, and most importantly incoming freshman, so they would want to... ... middle of paper ... ...about all the popular types of drugs among young people. Then, it compares drugs to alcohol in terms of their effects and why parents are scared of their children trying them. It also discusses ways of preventing youth from starting drugs and ways to detect early signs that could lead them to taking drugs or show that they have started. I chose this source because I think that it gives an accurate informative account on what exactly the drugs are that are being used, what their effects are, and how they can be detected. I think it is also significant that parents know how to prevent their children from starting drugs or stop them from doing them before they become strongly addicted. This is important to my topic because it introduces methods of prevention before college which can help protect them throughout college and reduce the amount of drugs on campuses.

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