State Alcohol Control Policies - Essay Example

To all newly admitted and their parents, As I am sure you are aware of the importance of the topic drug and alcohol abuse in the college-age population. This subject is vital when public health and educational consequences are concerned. Alcohol and drug abuse have reached epidemic proportions in America. While they have a negative consequence for all, there is a special negative impact upon the economy. The cost of drug abuse has grown to approximately $1 trillion dollars per year to America. Studies have suggested that rates of illicit drug and alcohol use are high among college students. These people are at a critical point in their lives, often making transitions to different lifestyles such as living on their own or attending college. The freedom from parental control and the increased availability may lead to the beginning into or rise of drug and alcohol abuse. A young person experiences sudden body changes, with mood changes and feeling of anxiety. When our child enters into teenage, he/she gets easily influenced by his peer group. During this period, they are very vulnerable to danger and self destruction. They cultivate bad habits and could get addicted to alcohol, tobacco and other habitual forming drugs. Higher educational attainment in adults aged 18 to 49 is associated with lower rates of substance use suggesting that young adults who attend college may be at lower risk than those who do not attend college, particularly those who have not completed high school. The major cause of morbidity and mortality is excessive alcohol consumption. Problem drinking and related consequences are a major social issue plaguing college campuses across the United States. Each year, alcohol is responsible for fatalities, assaults, serious injuries, and arrests that occur among college students. Health and social problems caused due to undue drinking of alcohol leads to 75000 fatalities and $184 billion in overall economic costs in the United States annually (Toben 441). However, living with parents or on their own could influence parental control and availability of substances may also be an important factor. A study found that residential colleges tend to have higher incidences of binge drinking than commuter schools, and that residence in a fraternity is a strong predictor of binge drinking. To safeguard the health interest of young people legal age for drinking as been made 21. But, still legal policies are failed to protect young generation from devastating effect of alcohol consumption. The developmental milestones like brain and mind progress gets hampered. The rise in binge drinking episodes in the age group of 18-20 should serve as a call to action for parents, educators, and lawmakers. The emphasis should be given for moderate consumption of alcohol which is psychologically beneficial rather than complete prohibition. This strategy might help in excessive and abusive binge drinking. It is seen that almost half of the college students U.S. college students (late adolescence and early adulthood) are binge drinkers. This has negative impact in terms of injuries, risky sexual behaviors, and poor academic performance. Also, various problems like motor vehicle crashes, other unintentional injuries, assaults, domestic violence, rape, unintended pregnancy, vandalism, alcohol poisoning, and alcohol dependence are caused due to abusive us of alcohol. Most of the programs are focused on early detection and intervention of binge drinkers. There is a need to address disorders related to excessive alcohol consumption among college students. The consequence of binge drinking is acute impairment. The policies for Alcohol consumption to control excessive use differ state wise. The state-specific laws and policies plays an important role in predicting the incidences of alcohol consumption and alcohol- related problems among adults and underage youth. It is very much necessary to conduct binge drinking patterns studies in the state where the college is situated as well as alcohol control policies in that particular state are in place. The studies related to college drinking are widely converged on personal characteristics of students, such as their attitudes, expectations, and beliefs about drinking. The contextual influences on college drinking patterns are not properly analysed, since studies are conducted on the same campuses. The overuse of illicit substances causes addiction among the general population. This abuse gives rise to substantial societal, personal, and economic problems. Surveys have consistently found young adults to have the highest rates of substance use. National epidemiologic surveys and numerous clinical studies has focused the consequences of drug use and alcohol overuse disorders with mood, anxiety, and personality disorders (PDs) (Compton 566). Axis I and II co-morbidity with drug use disorders has been associated with underachievement, decreased work productivity, poor health, neuropsychological impairment, human immunodeficiency virus infection, hepatitis, social dysfunction, violence, incarceration, poverty, homelessness, a lower probability of recovery, poor treatment outcome, and poor quality of life. (Compton 566). Drug use disorder co-morbidity also increases the risk of suicide attempts, especially among individuals with bipolar disorder. Although extensive data on drug use in the US population have been available on an ongoing basis for adults and adolescents, epidemiologic data on the prevalence, correlates, disability, treatment, and co-morbidity of drug use disorders among adults are seldom collected. Binge drinking appears to be linked with the use of a variety of other illicit drugs. A strong relationship is observed between the frequency of binge drinking and past-year use of marijuana, cigarettes, amphetamines, LSD, other hallucinogens, and chewing tobacco, with frequent binge drinkers being the most likely to have reported use of these other drugs in the past year, and nondrinkers the least likely. Compared to nonbinge drinkers, frequent binge drinkers were almost three times more likely to smoke cigarettes; four times more likely to use marijuana; five times more likely to use amphetamines, LSD, and chewing tobacco; and six times more likely to use hallucinogens—all in the past year. More than half of frequent binge drinkers used marijuana and cigarettes in the past year, compared to 13% and 22% of nonbinge drinkers. According to a survey, more than 90% of students who used marijuana in the past 30 days used other illicit drugs, smoked cigarettes, and/or binge drank. Eighty-seven percent of students who used any other illicit drug in the past 30 days used another substance or binge drank. Compared to exclusive binge drinkers (i.e., binge drinkers who used no illicit drugs), binge drinkers who used other drugs were almost twice as likely to smoke daily, engage in unprotected sex, and become hurt/injured because of their drinking during the past year; and almost three times as likely to get drunk at least six times in the past 30 days and have trouble in the past year with police because of substance use. A National College Risk Behavior Survey and the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey show similar findings. Again, current binge drinkers were more likely than nonbinge drinkers to use cigarettes, marijuana, cocaine, and other illicit drugs. The frequency of binge drinking was positively associated with lifetime use of cigarettes, marijuana, cocaine, and other illicit drugs. Nonmedical use of prescription drugs among college students is a major concern, and is also associated with frequency of binge drinking. Specifically, nonmedical users of prescription stimulants were seven times more likely to frequently binge drink, compared to nonusers. Similarly, nonmedical users of prescription anxiolytics as well as nonmedical users of prescription opioids were prone more to binge drink than nonusers. Teenagers are fearless and they do not care about death. They think that the problems arise due to drug abuse could be treated with the medicines. They feel that they are not going to get addicted an there the problem starts. Normally, it is believed that the colleagues impel their young friends to begin using drugs; the reality is somehow different – usually friends are changed in order to be with people who chose the same lifestyle. The parents feel their children get addicted to drugs due to bad company. Why do children begin to use drugs? According the data of U.S. Department of health and Human Services, these college students feel grown up, to fit in and belong, to relax and feel good, to take risks and rebel, and to satisfy curiosity, as the reasons why they use drugs. The careless attitude towards health and fear of peer disapproval drags them into drug, alcohol, and cigarettes abuse. On the contrary if the teenager is surrounded by good company of friends who are not addicted to drug abuse, they might change their bad habits to avoid any disapproval and denouncement from their college colleagues. Nelson, Toben F., Timothy S. Naimi, Robert D. Brewer, and Henry Wechsler. “The State Sets the Rate: The Relationship Among State-Specific College Binge Drinking, State Binge Drinking Rates, and Selected State Alcohol Control Policies”. American Journal of Public Health 95.3 (2005): 441-446. Wilson, Compton M., Yonette F. Thomas, Frederick S. Stinson, Bridget F. Grant. “Prevalence, Correlates, Disability, and Comorbidity of DSM-IV Drug Abuse and Dependence in the United States Results From the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions”. Arch Gen Psychiatry 64.5 (2007): 566-576.  Read More