When walking into a college party you might see students casually passing around a joint,
taking shots, or vaping. But lately, other things have crept into the mix—cocaine, ketamine, ecstasy and amyl nitrites, commonly known as “poppers.” Hard drug use is becoming dangerously normalized, and it’s a trend that should raise red flags.
This is the reality of college party culture in 2024. Hard drugs are no longer whispered about in the shadows. They are out in the open, with research from American Addiction Centers revealing that the number of 19 to 28-year-olds who use illicit drugs has increased by 12% from 2006 to 2019. They are sometimes even glamorized on social media. And while experimenting with substances is a cliché of college life, normalizing hard drugs poses serious risks to student’s long term health.
The casual way students discuss and use these substances makes it easy to forget how dangerous they really are. Hard drugs, drugs that are more toxic and potent, have long-term consequences that can spiral into addiction, health issues and even death. A recent study from the National Institute on Drug Abuse showed that opioid related deaths among young adults have skyrocketed in the last decade, a chilling reminder of the high stakes. Based on another study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1,808 adolescents aged 10 to 19 died of drug overdose as of December 2021, starting in July 2019.
While it might seem like “everyone’s doing it,” that’s not the case. According to Addiction Center, an organization dedicated to researching substance abuse disorders and co-occurring mental health disorders, the pressure to experiment with hard drugs is often fueled by the fear of missing out or the desire to fit in with a specific group. What starts as a way to have fun or enhance a party experience can quickly turn into dependency.
Addiction resulting from casual drug use can develop faster than most realize. What begins as recreational use—taking a pill to study for finals, or trying a line of cocaine at a party—can quickly turn into a dangerous cycle. Drugs like cocaine, opioids and prescription stimulants have powerful effects on the brain’s reward system, creating intense feelings of euphoria. Over time, the brain starts to rely on these substances to feel normal, leading to increased tolerance and the need for higher doses to achieve the same effect. This can lead to dependency, where users feel physically or emotionally incapable of functioning without the drug. Once addiction takes hold, quitting becomes an uphill battle, as withdrawal symptoms and cravings take over, often trapping individuals in a cycle that’s difficult to break. Addiction can happen to anyone, and it doesn’t take much to set it in motion.
The normalization of hard drugs in a college setting is a dangerous trend that needs to be addressed. College is a time for exploration and growth, but when substance abuse becomes part of that equation, it can derail everything.
College culture needs to shift from glorifying dangerous behaviors and move toward creating spaces where students feel supported in healthier ways. Students need to be reminded that saying no to hard drugs isn’t about being boring or missing out—it’s about protecting their health, their future, and their lives.
Editor-in-Chief: Jordan Premmer, Chief Copy Editor: Sophia McCrackin, Managing Editor: Jordan DelFiugo, Opinion Editor: Dakota Duran, Scene Editor: Elina Graham
