Guide to navigating drugs and alcohol as a college student

Data, resources and other information is shared to help bring awareness to the drug and alcohol abuse of college students.

As the end of the quarter is approaching, the campus saw busy students, intense course assignments and high levels of stress.

Recently on television, students saw a lot of TV shows that exploit the use of drugs and alcohol like “Gossip Girl,” “90210,” and “Shameless.” However, in the Emmy award winning show “Euphoria,” students saw an entirely different understanding of drugs and alcohol that can inspire the use through articulating the cause and effects of drug and alcohol use.

With most of UW Tacoma’s student body commuting to campus, one can assume student’s often balance work, school and their lives, making them more susceptible to mental stress. Students can attest that self-care is not an easy thing to come by for college students which can open the doors for drug and alcohol abuse.

According to the website Learning English, most college students who turn to drugs and alcohol do so to decrease mental stress from school and other problems.

Out of the college students who use drugs illegally, 93% use marijuana for students under the age of 21, 37% use cocaine and 36% use hallucinogens, according to a study done by The National Center of Drug Abuse Statistics. For more information about these statistics students can visit www.drugabuse statistics.org.

The UWT Student Health site offers a variety of resources like the Alcohol and Other Drugs site. It explains each resource and how it can help students. 

The Washington Recovery Helpline is an organization that provides callers with emotional and mental support and local treatment resources for drug abuse, alcohol abuse and mental health crises 24/7. This resource can be used by UWT students, faculty, staff and Washington State residents.

E-check Up To Go is a resource offered on the website where students can take a questionnaire that provides information on their BAC information as well as trends they may or may not recognize in their bodies when consuming alcohol. This is a great resource for those who are able to legally drink and desire more information about safe drinking.

Another resource The UWT Student Health site offers is UW Tacoma Psychological And Wellness Services (PAWS) that help students, faculty and staff with alcohol and drug screenings and referrals to community support and services. According to www.tacoma.uw.edu/paws PAWS is only offering virtual services throughout the winter quarter, check their website for more information. 

Additionally, throughout the week of March 7th there will be events like Create-Your-Own Self-Care package, Stuff an Emoji, and Make your Own Stress Ball day. UWT is doing a self-car week to help students relieve stress check out the uwtpacks Instagram for specific event information.