The Office of Substance Awareness, located in the Health Center next to Birch Hall, provides free, confidential, short-term substance abuse treatment for all students. The Office of Substance Awareness also provides educational information and presents to first-year seminar classes.
The Office of Substance Awareness also reports substance use and abuse trends of concern to the University community. This year, a continuing trend of concern includes designer drugs such as synthetic marijuana. Synthetic marijuana is a laboratory made product attempting to simulate marijuana and its effects. Sold under names such as, K2, Spice and Revelation Ultra; These products are made in China and there is very little known about what short and long term effects these products have on the brain. There have been many health concerns from people smoking these products to get high. We have seen people become sick, lose consciousness and even experience mental health symptoms including psychotic episodes from these types of products.
In addition to synthetic forms of marijuana, another product of concern is bath salts. This was the name given to a synthetic form of methamphetamine. What sounds like an innocent bubble bath product is actually a dangerous substance already banned in many states, including New Jersey as of August 2011.
Alcohol poisoning continues to be a leading concern on campus. According to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism website, a 2002 study estimates that more than 1,400 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die each year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries and 500,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 sustain unintentional alcohol-related injuries each year. Many students report drinking too much, too fast and experiencing memory blackouts, vomiting, passing out and hangovers. These harmful effects are preventable.
Never leave a friend alone who is vomiting or passed out. Call 911 if there is any concern that the individual is in distress due to shallow breathing, inability to stop vomiting and/or bluish skin coloring. The Good Samaritan Policy allows students to call for help if a friend is need of medical attention with amnesty from an alcohol violation.
The Office of Substance Awareness is co-sponsoring The Great American Smoke Out on November 17 in the Rebecca Stafford Student Center. There will several exhibits on the dangers of smoking, and information and tools on smoking cessation.