With one in six college students struggling with a substance abuse disorder, which is more than double the rate of the general population, Kennesaw State must make drug addiction awareness a priority.
We as a university system must recognize that our students are not invincible to the effects of drug addiction. The effects of popular drugs such as Xanax, synthetic cathinones and methylenedioxy-methamphetamine has just as much of a threat to college students than it is to the rest of the nation.
In fact, as the White House has declared the opioid epidemic a public health emergency, Georgia is one of the top states with the most opioid overdose-related deaths. In 2017, there were 165 overdose deaths in Cobb County alone.
Farther from home, popular rapper Malcolm McCormick, more commonly known as Mac Miller, was found unresponsive at his home in Los Angeles the morning of Sept. 7. His autopsy and cause of death are still pending, but his death was apparently due to a drug overdose. This can be traced back to at least 2013 when he was openly rapping about his addiction to prescription opiate cough syrup.
Addiction in the celebrity community gets attention on news outlets, but what about right here at home in the KSU community? Where can students turn to? It is time to use fewer hashtags and look for solutions and long-term changes for all.
Drug addiction is defined by the National Institute on Drug Abuse as a chronic disease of drug use that is compulsive or difficult to control, despite harmful consequences. Drugs that affect the brain’s reward circuit flood the brain with dopamine, a “feel good” neurotransmitter.
But continued use of these drugs leads to neurons requiring higher levels of dopamine to respond to the reward circuit. Physically, this is seen as a person taking more of a drug to reach the same high. This can also cause changes to the brain’s circuitry, leading to problems in the brain’s function in judgment, memory, stress, behavior, decision-making and learning.
When it comes to death due to overdose, one should examine the root cause of an individual to use drugs and what lead to the addiction. It may be disruptions in the person’s environment that lead to their drug use. Each person has their own unique life experiences which can lead to different life choices and outcomes. It is important for drug addicts to know that it is not their fault and that help is available.
The Center for Young Adult Addiction and Recovery is a campus resource available for KSU students who are facing issues with addiction. It has various professionals and resources available, as well as the Collegiate Recovery Community and the Collegiate Recovery Program.
The CYAAR encourages KSU students, faculty, parents and the greater KSU community to stop by and learn more about alcohol, drugs, addiction and recovery.
