By Ann Burr Clevenger
The Current Situation
For something many colleges and universities claim is not an issue, deaths due to fentanyl on campuses seem to be the subject of plenty of articles and news pieces. University Business went so far as to call fentanyl a “big threat” to students of higher education.
The opioid epidemic, once seen primarily as a crisis affecting middle-aged adults in rural and suburban areas, has increasingly infiltrated college and university campuses across the United States. The proliferation of opioids, including the potent synthetic opioid fentanyl, presents unique and urgent challenges for higher education institutions. Understanding the scope of the problem and providing realistic solutions for students is critical.
Opioid misuse among college students is a growing concern. The CDC reports that overdose death rate more than tripled from 2016 to 2021 and young adults, the supposed bright future of our nation, are falling prey to addiction at alarming rates., with deaths involving opioids among adolescents increasing by more than 100% from 2019 to 2021.
Misuse of prescription opioids, such as oxycodone and hydrocodone, often begins innocently with prescriptions for pain management but can quickly lead to dependency and abuse. The transition from prescription opioids to more dangerous substances like heroin and fentanyl is a well-documented pathway that exacerbates the crisis. Fentanyl in particular has become a significant threat. The synthetic opioid is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and is often mixed with other drugs, often without the user’s knowledge.
Several factors have fueled this crisis:
- Stress and Mental Health Neglect: Students are buckling under relentless academic pressure, social stress, and the struggle of becoming adults. Instead of stepping up, many institutions are failing to provide adequate mental health support, leaving students to self-medicate with opioids.
- Availability and Peer Pressure: Prescription opioids are disturbingly easy to obtain, whether through doctors, peers, or the black market. Peer pressure compounds the problem, pushing students towards these dangerous substances in a misguided quest for acceptance or escape.
- Ignorance: The lack of awareness about the risks of opioid use, particularly the sheer lethality of fentanyl, is inexcusable. Many students don’t even realize they’re playing Russian roulette every time they take a pill.
Here’s how to go on the offensive:
- Aggressive Education Campaigns: Launch education programs, hammering home the deadly dangers of opioids and fentanyl. This means mandatory sessions during orientation, frequent awareness events, and peer-led initiatives.
- Comprehensive Mental Health Services: Stop skimping on mental health. Colleges need to vastly improve access to counseling, offer robust stress management resources, and launch mental health awareness campaigns that penetrate into the student body. Faculty should be trained to spot and respond aggressively to signs of mental distress.
- Substance Use Programs: Develop ironclad substance use prevention and intervention programs. This includes regular screenings, accessible support groups, and solid partnerships with local health organizations that can provide real, effective treatment options.
- Widespread Naloxone Availability: Naloxone saves lives. There’s no excuse for its absence on campus. Colleges must ensure it is widely available and that students and staff are trained in its use. Policies should mandate its distribution and use.
- Empowered Peer Support Networks: Build strong peer support networks to foster a culture of care and accountability. Collegiate recovery communities (CRCs) should be expanded and supported, creating safe havens for students living with addiction.
How is PursueCare Part of the Solution?
We are looking to work with the administrations at institutions of higher education as well as student groups on campus to raise awareness of PursueCare as a judgement-free treatment option for addiction. While students may be hesitant to reveal an addiction issue to traditional campus health services, the one thing every student has on them all the time is a phone. And that’s all you need to be connected to PursueCare’s complete addiction treatment with our network of clinicians, case managers, a pharmacy that delivers, and complementary comprehensive mental health services. We accept commercial insurance and also have a self-pay option for students who would rather keep their treatment private. PursueCare is not the only answer to the deadly fentanyl epidemic at colleges and universities, but it is a start.