Drug Abuse among Students in American Colleges (Essay Sample)

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Drug Abuse among students in American colleges
Introduction
Drug abuse in American colleges is not a new concept. The trend has been common and popular since the 1970s. College students have always formed a big percentage proportion of alcohol and other drug abusers in the American society. Attending college is often the first time that the students have gained greater autonomy from their parents and often feel the urge to exploit this new found freedom. Unfortunately, the students often misuse the freedom by seeking to prove themselves among fellow students and fit in to the already drug abusing society of students. As a result, drug abuse has been on rampant rise in colleges even as the administrators contribute to the trend due to their lack of policy to keep the bad practice in check. Drug abuse has been used synonymously with indiscipline among college students as a result of the influence it gives to the mental stability of the students.
Commonly abused drug Types
There are several addictive drugs that exist but the majorly abuse once include; illicit drugs, alcohol, stimulants, benzodiazepines and sleeping peels. Alcohol is the most commonly abused drug among college students. Excessive drinking of alcohol has effects such as slowed reaction time, losing of coordination and slurring of speech. Also, alcohol has the effect of lowering thinking capacity and impaired judgments(White, Aaron & Ralph Hingson). Benzodiazepines are the pharmaceutical drugs that are intended for treatment of several mental disorders such as panic attacks. Consuming benzos over long time periods leads to addiction that has the consequence of seizures like the Grand Mal on sudden withdrawal. Illicit drugs on the other hand refers to the illegal and powerfully addictive ones such as meth and heroin. Such drugs like marijuana has the short-term impact of interference of concentration and slowed reactionary time. Other illicit drugs abused in colleges include; cocaine, crack cocaine, ecstasy, hallucinogens and heroin.
Other types of drugs commonly abused are opiates. The original purpose of opiates is for the treatment of chronic and acute pain. These types of drugs such as morphine put users in “dreamlike” states. Withdrawal from the drug is extremely agonizing to its users and can lead to death. Another category of abused drugs is the sleeping pills. The pills are a medical prescriptions known as sedative-hypnotics. According to Ford, Jason, and Lindsey (58-59) sleeping pills such as amytal bring about alcohol-like intoxication which motivates users to continue using it. The last form of drugs are stimulants. Prescribed stimulants include methylphenidates and amphetamines. Such drugs are made for the treatment of mental problems such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Drug addicts who use these substances have the feeling of intense pleasure.
American college students have varying reasons as to why they abuse drugs in school. Some of these reasons include; High levels of stress- some college students find it difficult to balance their part-time job. Time for friends and the coursework all together. This has often pushed them into using drugs. Additionally, some of the students engage in drug abuse out of peer pressure(Ford & Lindsey, 56). When students get into college, they try to fit themselves into the new system by trying to act as the older students are doing. Furthermore, curiosity has been considered as another factor that has caused students to abuse drugs. When the new students see the older students taking some kind of drugs, they become curious to also try the drugs.
Various signs have been associated with students that are engaged in drug abuse in American colleges. These signs are as follows; lowered interest in extracurricular and class activities. Once students start abusing drugs, there interest in classes have been observed to drastically decrease. Also, drug abusing students are associated with drastic changes in academic performance(Sutfin, 216). Such students usually set little time to study hence often start lowering their grades. Moreover, drug addiction in colleges is synonymous with indiscipline among college students as mentioned earlier. Such students are often seen displaying uncharacteristic depression, mood swings and irritability. The students often start becoming rude to their fellow students or even the administration.
Based on availability of some drugs, expectations, social pressure, there are demographics on colleges that are at increasingly higher risks of getting involved with drug abuse or encountering the practice itself. Such groups include Sorority and fraternity members. These are students are within the vicinity of the campus community. Campus athletes are also at a risk of engaging in drug abuse. This is due to the pressure to perform in various sports. Students that are experiencing health problems are also most likely to abuse drugs due to their thinking instability(Sutfin, 220). Finally, students that face intense amounts of stress are often more likely to engage in drug abuse than students with less stress. This is because such students seek to find a way of relieving the excess stress by using the drugs.
Statistics on drug abuse among American college students
There are shockingly disappointing statistics that show how deeply rooted the drug abuse menace is taking shape in American colleges. It is reported that close to 31 percent of all American college students have reported alcohol abuse symptoms. This is especially serious owing to the impa