College students at risk for substance abuse during the school year

EAST LANSING, Mich. ( WLNS ) — Drug use among young adults is an issue year-round, but experts say this time of year, when college students are returning to campus, is a time to remind students and parents that experimentation could lead to abuse.

“There’s no such thing because experimentation can lead to death,” Brian McNeal, a spokesperson for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, said.

McNeal says it’s common for college students to try drugs like Adderall to cram for an exam or drugs like MDMA or ecstasy in a party setting.

“Sometimes they’re ordering them online or on social media,” McNeal continued. “That’s where you can come across a counterfeit pill and DEA research is showing that seven out of these 10 counterfeit pills contain a lethal dosage of fentanyl.”

A lethal dosage of fentanyl is 2mg, which fits on the tip of a pencil.

McNeal said the way drugs are sold has changed. Sometimes they are even marketed using emoji combinations that may seem otherwise innocent.

“College kids have money and they have a future so they have a target on their back for people who deal in drugs,” Phil Pavona, founder of the Face Addiction Now Okemos/Ingham County Chapter, said.

Phil Pavona lost his son Eric to a drug overdose in 2011. He says there are a few things he would’ve done differently, like signing a release to have access to his son’s grades and looking more into his son’s roommates and friends.

“For safety reasons. (It) has nothing to do with treating them like they’re 8 years old,” said Pavona.

He wonders if he would have been able to intervene sooner in his son’s struggles.

“I think that education is key in all of this,” said Anthony Elia, community engagement coordinator for FAN, who also struggled with addiction himself. “What was it doing to my brain? What was it doing to my organs? I wasn’t educated with that.”

Experts say keeping an open dialog around drug-related issues can be the key to prevention.

Signs a loved one is dealing with substance use disorder are isolation and changes in mood and behavior. If you or a student you know is struggling, there are resources at campusdrugprevention .gov.

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