Opinion: I have spent most of my life hearing the same anti drugs speech every year. I have also spent that time seeing those words do nothing. Telling someone not to do something makes them want to do it more, so instead of saying not to do drugs, I wanted to explain how to do them smartly.
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There are so many things I think of when someone says the word “college.” I think of school, parties, crazy late nights and early mornings. The baby adult stage of life, where we test ourselves and learn our limits.

Living the most extreme version of your life has multiple levels though. Yes, we push ourselves academically, making sure our best work is being put out for future employers. However, some also push themselves and their bodies to the extreme with the parties attended and drugs consumed.

Drug use in college students is not a new concept, nor is it a new phenomenon. There is unfortunately a new aspect that has instilled fear in the mind of many. That aspect is fentanyl and its deadly side effects.

According to the CDC, over 150 people die daily from fentanyl overdoses with 75% of overdoses in 2020 being due to opiods. Synthetic opioids such as fentanyl make up 82% of those deaths. It would be logical to ask the question, “Why not just stop doing drugs?” That is a good idea, but a less realistic one for many students.
I say this because of the glamorization of drugs that has happened in the media. As the American Addiction Center’s website states, drug use has become ingrained in society to the point that it is hard for many of us to imagine what life would look like without drugs or alcohol. A world in which going to get a drink after work or on the weekends wasn’t the norm.

College campuses are the ideal spot for addiction to grow. With the stress of a new place, paired with the new found independence and with curiosity surrounding drugs as the cherry on top, no one bats an eye if you say you’ve been doing too much of one substance or another.

Many students think that there is a “you should be doing this” narrative around drugs, said Tommi Jepsen, a University of Oregon senior. Jepsen said she has not let societal pressures affect the way she lives her life but did admit to noticing their presence throughout her four years here.

There are only so many times students can hear the words, “Don’t do drugs” before we lose our minds. So what can actually be done to shrink the death count and ensure the safety of those partaking?

This is when I tell any and everyone reading this to go and buy a pack of Opvee or Narcan. At the very least everyone should have test strips in their bags. You can find them on campus and for free at stations in Eugene; they might save your life. So please, buy something to protect yourself and the people you care about.

Opioid lacing is not going away so that means you need to equip yourself with the means to fight back. I also feel the need to mention that you do not have to be doing drugs to carry these products. Who knows whose life you might end up saving.

This isn’t an article telling you whether or not you should do drugs. It is an article telling you to be smart,  be cautious and, most of all, be safe.