Latest Updates

The effect of COVID-19 on college student mental health is widely reported and can, in part, be evidenced by the increasing demand for counseling services.  The degree to which the pandemic affected substance use patterns, including binge drinking and cannabis use, appears to be less obvious and, perhaps, more complicated.  We asked two national experts what the early data show on substance use patterns over the last two years and how we might interpret what we are seeing.  Their answers include the identification of looming concerns and emerging best practices.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is transitioning its number to 988.

Rich Lucey is a Senior Prevention Program Manager in DEA’s Community Outreach and Prevention Support Section. In this month’s View from the Field, Rich highlights a milestone achievement for www.campusdrugprevention.gov and highlights DEA’s various resources for professionals working to prevent drug use and misuse among college students.

A group of students at West Virginia University has created a task force that aims to educate their fellow students about the dangers of the synthetic opioid fentanyl.

Dr. David Anderson is Professor Emeritus of Education and Human Development at George Mason University. In this month’s article, Dr. Anderson focuses on the importance of data and its implications for preventing alcohol and drug misuse among college students.

Students at four-year colleges and universities drink nearly twice as much alcohol as their peers in two-year colleges, according to a survey of college students in the Seattle area. 

Two students at Ohio State University died after apparent accidental fentanyl overdoses last week, according to Columbus police. One of the students, 21-year-old Tiffany Iler, was from Broadview Heights.

Director of the Catamount Recovery Program at the University of Vermont, Amy Boyd Austin, says it exists to give students dealing with substance use disorders a safe community.

Dr. Jim Lange is Executive Director of the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Drug Misuse Prevention and Recovery, an academic center of The Ohio State University, and Coordinator of Alcohol and Other Drug Initiatives at San Diego State University. In this month’s article, Dr. Lange focuses on impaired driving among college students and an urgent call to action to prevent it.

In a dimly lit room strung with green Christmas lights, a student sits before a telephone, awaiting calls from struggling peers.