Students Speak | Navigating Spring Break Substance Use
As the weather warms up, students on campuses across the country are preparing for their annual Spring Break. They pack their suitcases for tropical, all-inclusive vacations across destinations like Mexico and Florida.
A sophomore at a Top 25 university Describing his first experience in Mexico during Spring Break last year: “My friends went to the pharmacy that first day. There were a lot of drugs that usually require a prescription at home available there for over the counter purchase. We were drinking all day, everyday on the trip too.”
It was his first time with open access to unregulated drugs while surrounded by heavy binge drinking.
When asked about how his university helped prepare him for a safe Spring Break before he left campus, he remembered, “There was one email about carrying Narcan and not leaving friends alone if you were in a foreign country. I think it was focused on alcohol… I just deleted it.”
Many students at highly reputable universities have overdosed on their Spring Break vacations in recent years. This lucky sophomore - despite the combined exposure to unregulated substances and binge drinking - was one who made it home from Spring Break unharmed.
Polysubstance education becomes especially valuable this time of year, when binge drinking balloons as the average male student has 18 drinks a day, and the average female student drinks 10. The excessive alcohol use and lowered inhibitions predispose unaware students to substance experimentation. Are these students equipped with tools to safely navigate the potential for polysubstance use in pressurized environments like Spring Break?
The 51.5% of college students that are offered an illicit drug during their Spring Break should have research-backed training to support them in returning to campus safely. Over 50% of college students that used an illicit drug in the past reported consuming ‘more’ or ‘much more’ of that drug while on break. During this peak time of year, the accessibility to unregulated drugs while drinking is more prevalent to students as they take their well deserved vacations.
DopaGE’s virtual modules provide students with baseline education to support their safety in environments of rampant polysubstance use. Overdose risk rises in surroundings that permit use of illicit substances while binge drinking, like Spring Break. To find out how DopaGE provides training for students to safely navigate polysubstance use, click here.
