Taylor Tate 

A study published The National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health estimated 37% of young adults in college are participating in drug use. How is Penn State Abington engaging with and informing students about drug use?  

At Penn State Abington, the goal seems to be to offer courses, counselling, training programs, and drug abuse assistance programs and more.  

Drug use is prevalent in many young adult’s lives. Ranging from ages nineteen to twenty-eight, illegal drug use is very common among college students. In an article titled Substance Abuse In College Students: Statistics and Rehab Treatment  Stacy Mosel, who focuses on the effects of drugs and treatment options for college students, writes, “MDMA use among college students more than doubled from 2004 to 2016. The number of people aged 19-28 using illicit drugs increased from 32% in 2006 to 44% in 2019. Around 43% of college students used marijuana in 2018, which represents a 7% increase over the previous 5 years.” There has been a rapid increase in drug use in college students.  

Penn State Abington’s Annual Security Reports show forty incidents of disciplinary action around drug use. At Penn State Abington, drug abuse is taken very seriously and the determination to help young adults stray away from abusing illegal substances is displayed in many ways. Penn State Abington offers recourse to counseling or assistance programs for those who are struggling or who want to learn more about drug use and its effects.

Penn State Abington also provides multiple opportunities to learn, such as training in Rehabilitation and Human Services where students can find course that focus on drug and alcohol programs. On course, BBH 143, “Drugs, Behavior and Health,” informs students about the dangers that come with drug use.

There are a number of courses that are offered allow for students to gain a better understanding and potentially give students more of a chance at turning away drugs. These courses include, Drugs, Behavior, and Health, Foundations of Chemical Dependency Counselling, Group Procedures in Guidance and Counselling and more. 

Mosel asserts that participating in abusing drugs leaves college students struggling academically in several ways. This can include, but is not limited to, “lower grades, a lower GPA, less time spent studying and more time missing class.  This can also include dropping out or even expulsion.”   

Penn State also makes it very well known to their college students the disciplinary actions and the repercussions of drug use. Policies on drug use on and off campus are listed on Penn State Abington’s website: Alcohol and Drug Policies. These policies touch on illegal drug usage on campus and its violation of the code of conduct, as well as a range of disciplinary action from a warning to expulsion from the university in hopes to push kids away from participating in illegal drug use.  

Penn State Abington’s drive to make a change in college students today allows for an abundance in knowledge of drugs and its consequences, as well as affects that come with abusing drugs as a college student. Moreover, they make sure to provide help and not just disciplinary action as well as informative courses to make students aware of the severity of these drugs.