For most, college is a transformative, inspiring experience that allows students to engage in self-exploration while duly exploring fields of study and potential career paths. College presents a unique opportunity to try new things, allowing students to learn more about the world and their place within. Nonetheless, with experimentation, risk and uncertainty is likely to follow. Wary parents who send their children to college may only be calmed by the assurance that their kids will be safe and cared for. However, university students now face an unprecedented challenge that may bring parent’s fears to life, the opioid epidemic.
Over the last few decades, the U.S. has been haunted by two of the deadliest killers; opioids and fentanyl. In 2021, the number of people who died from a drug overdose was six times greater than it was in 1999. After the 2020 Covid-19 Pandemic, this escalation was predicted to settle. However, these numbers have only continued to rise, resulting in a staggering 112,000 death toll in 2023 alone. Regardless of the $40 billion dollar receipt the federal government has drawn up attempting to fight the war on drugs, the landscape of drug prevention and rehabilitation has often been seen as the “wild west”, signaling a system that is not only costly but poorly regulated. University students, typically between the age range of 18 and 22, are a targetable group for illicit drug use and thus fall victim to this crisis. According to the 2019 Monitoring the Future Survey, college students have the highest marijuana and illicit drug use, such as amphetamines, cocaine, hallucinogens, and MDMA. Beginning in 2020, adolescents experienced a greater relative increase in overdose mortality than the overall population, attributable in large part to fatalities involving fentanyl.
Opioid addiction and overdoses are a nation-wide issue that isn’t specific to college campuses. Nevertheless, university administrators, students, and families are growing increasingly concerned about how to keep students safe in the midst of this crisis. College campuses within the U.S. have begun to look towards Naloxone (Narcan) as not a solution, but a resource. Naloxone is an opioid antagonist that reverses the effects of an overdose, helping to quickly restore breathing to a person if their breathing has stopped or slowed. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Naloxone has no effect on someone that doesn’t have opioids in their system. So, this medicine is not universal, but targets the heart of the U.S.’s drug problem; opioids and fentanyl. Naloxone reverses the effects of an overdose for 30-90 minutes, acting not as a solution, but a way to buy time until first responders can arrive. According to the CDC, roughly 65% of fentanyl-related deaths in 2022 could have been prevented with the use of Naloxone.
In 2017, Bridgewater State University became the first post-secondary institution to make Naloxone publicly available to all students. Others, such as the University of Texas at Austin, Ithaca College and the University of Iowa have followed suit. In the beginning of 2023, California introduced the Campus Opioid Safety Act, a senate bill that requires all campus health centers at most public colleges and universities to make Naloxone free and accessible to students. At institutions that have not formally supplied Naloxone due to cost, stigma or access barriers, such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, student-led groups have begun to take charge. After the fentanyl-induced overdose of several UNC students, Riley Sullivan created the Carolina Harm and Reduction Unit, an organization that distributes Naloxone and fentanyl test strips to students on-campus every week. So, the value in Naloxone is not only being recognized at the state and institutional level, but directly from the students themselves.
The question of whether colleges and universities will continue to supply Naloxone remains unanswered. Naloxone can be a productive resource. However, addressing cost and safety concerns is still at the forefront of administrative doubts. In order to use Naloxone effectively, proper training is needed. Some opioids are stronger and might require multiple doses of naloxone. Therefore, one of the most important steps to take is to call 911 so the individual can receive immediate medical attention. Additionally, people who are given Naloxone need to be observed persistently, as those with physical dependence on opioids may be at risk of withdrawal symptoms. Under California’s Campus Opioid Safety Act, first-year students are now required to receive formal Naloxone training at their orientation. Apart from use and safety concerns, the cost of Naloxone raises a barrier for institutions, amounting to nearly $44 a dose. For colleges and universities that are already under-funded, supplying Naloxone without a subsidy or grant isn’t feasible.
Notably, there are many benefits and shortcomings of bringing Naloxone to college campuses. This medicine can offer a way to buy students more time in the event of an overdose, but it is nevertheless only part of the solution. Naloxone can be a valuable resource for drug rehabilitation but not prevention or recovery. Colleges and universities can benefit from having supplies of Naloxone, but duly need quality prevention and recovery programs and resources to address the root of the problem: illicit drug use. As expressed by Lucus Hill, a clinical assistant professor at the University of Texas, “preventing an overdose death is not the same thing as curing an addiction”. Naloxone offers colleges and universities a Plan B, but to protect the safety of students, a firm grasp on Plan A and C is needed.
