Drug Use among College Students at a Private University

Indianapolis, IN

Drugs and drug use are global commonalities and issues. Drug use and abuse will always be a part of this society, however knowing at what age drugs are first used can help decrease the number of users and help more people avoid drugs. With the current national conversation about the legalization or acceptance of some drugs and their use, research is needed to understand why people use, what it means to use, and how perceptions influence behaviors. Previous findings and research have found multiple concepts and conclusions in the topic of drug use and substance abuse among college students. Since the issue of drugs and drug use is immense in society, the studies are numerous. The methodology for their research project is a sample from a private university in the Midwest with a no-alcohol policy. The sample consisted of 400 randomly selected participants, whom 109 responded, and 92 surveys were completed. The research questions that guided this project were 1). what types of drugs or substances do college students report using in their lifetime, 2). what is the age of initiation in drug use; 3). and what reasons do students give for past or current drug use. The findings in this research project show that college students reported using alcohol, marijuana and tobacco the most, more students will report using alcohol and tobacco in the younger years, 16 and 18 were the most common, and then advanced to marijuana and the possibly even harder drugs later on, and students reported using drugs or substances for recreation, self-medication, and their peers.