DRUG USE UNACCEPTED BY CAMPUS MAJORITY

Greg Behr is right (Drug traffic through N.C. State article). Only a small
portion of NC State students report using illegal drugs. The 2004 NC State
CORE Survey results indicate that 12% of students surveyed reported using an
illegal drug other that marijuana in the last year. Five percent reported
using illegal drugs other than marijuana within 30 days of the survey. About
17% of students reportedly have used marijuana within 30 days of the survey.

However, many students think that illegal drug use is the norm. This is not
a big surprise as media sources (particularly TV and film) saturate us with
messages that "normalize" substance use even if it is not normal. On the
CORE 49% of students reported that they thought that the average NC State
student used some form of an illegal drug at least once a week. That would
mean at least 50% use drugs illegally once a week or more. Think about your
friends. Do half of them use an illegal substance at least once a week?

Sometimes perceptions cloud reality. We perceive something to be real, thus
it is must be so, despite reality. For example, we see someone drinking a
beer, being a little boisterous, and assume she is drunk without checking
the accuracy of the "observation"; it fits our "view". If she says she's not
drunk, we may not believe her - just like we may not believe the CORE
statistics. "They're lying on those stats," we may think. "They're under
reporting." Some may, but some people lie and over report use too. Instead
of tying to make things fit our "view" maybe we need to challenge our view.

Sometimes experiences cloud reality. We think our experience is true for
others. If a person belongs to a group in which the average person does use
an illegal substance at least once a week, is that true for other groups on
campus? It would be speculation at best to make that assumption.

According to local and national substance abuse statistics, a vast majority
of people does not use illegal substances. According to the CORE survey, 82%
of NC State students surveyed indicated that they would prefer not to have
drugs available at parties they attend. Perhaps students aren't as
acceptable of drug use as many think them to be.

Chris Austin

Substance Abuse Prevention Health Educator