ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE IN UNIVERSITIES

ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE IN UNIVERSITIES

The vice of abusing drugs in our major universities are a major concern in today’s world. Young students are lured into the acts of abusing drugs at tender age only to develop to addicts at the campus life rendering them of low productivity in the society and the nation at large

. The desire to achieve is a key concern to every student who joins the campus and therefore it becomes a loss to the students involved and poses a great threat to the growth of a community.

 In my annotated bibliography I am going to research on three books; legal dimensions of drug abuse in the United States, the economic costs of alcohol and drug abuse and the surveillance of drug abuse trends in the state of Ohio.

In the book on the economic losses due to alcohol and drug abuse the writer laments of the losses that are associated with the vice. She comes out clearly how we lose young lives all the time and thus a loss of skilled professional labor that is at their highly productive stage. The writer believes that the vice brings a lot of production losses owing to the fact that people under effect of drugs will rarely involve in active nation building, he blames universities for lacking stringent rules and regulations and lack of accessible peer counseling. She estimates a loss of $134.2 billion annually(Abuse., 1998) to the effects of alcohol and drug abuse. He attributes the vice to increased healthcare costs and an increase in the dependent ratio at the most productive stages in life. As a result the situation ends with alcohol and other drugs disorders, loss of productivity, crime, accidents and an issue in the social welfare.

In the journal; the surveillance of drug abuse trends in Ohio based on the results from Akron University, the Ohio substance abuse monitoring network covers the Akron-canton summit and stark counties detailing the abuse of alcohol, crack cocaine and marijuana naming them as the most abused in the region. The report establishes the ever increase of new users above the age of thirty with majority taking no action to seek any medical treatment or counseling. The youth is the target group here and an increase in the use of hallucinogens is a common trend in the covered regions with others extending to heroin use leading to dependency. The writer believes that the trends continue to lead to increase consumption as the drugs become available and their prices being favorable e.g. a quarter ounce crack cocaine going for $125. He notes the presence of new homemade drugs that finds their way to the international markets.

      The book on the legal dimensions of drug abuse in the United States uncovers the legal consequences and their impacts on the societal framework as a result of alcohol and drug related issues. It describes how universities in the United States become a haven for drug abusers and the recruitment of new drug users. It researches on criminal law in education setting elaborating how law could help curb the vice through simple legal procedure. The book establishes that several drug lords have escaped the law through corrupt means and they end up continuing with the vice thereafter, the state blacks being the trade masterminds. The author describes the anti-drug abuse act of 1986 as a milestone towards the fight against drug abuse in the region, challenging the youth in colleges to serve as role models in an effort to curb the vice.

REFERENCES

Abuse., N. I. (1998). Assessing drug abuse within and across communities : community epidemiology surveillance networks on drug abuse. Rockville, MD: U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Levine, H. R. (1974). Legal dimensions of drug abuse in the United States,. Springfield: Thomas.

Network., O. S., Services., O. D., University., W. S., & Akron, U. o. (2011). Surveillance of drug abuse trends in the state of Ohio : a report prepared for the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services. ohio: Columbus : Ohio Dept. of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services.