Drug dependency is defined as a state in which a person only functions normally in the presence of the drug, usually due to repeated use of the drug.
According to the AddictionCenter from the Delphi Behavioral Health group, college students are one of the largest groups of people who misuse drugs in the United States and people between the ages of 18 and 24 are at a heightened risk of substance misuse.
Students’ dependency on various substances can be a result of factors such as pressure to fit into a new environment and handle academic stress. On the other hand, substance misuse can also lead to addiction, which is characterized by changes in behavior.
Every quarter, UCLA sends out a substance misuse brochure, detailing the campus’ stance on drug use and possession. Though one part covers the resources available to those living with drug addiction, the brochure also mentions the consequences which those caught violating the policies may face. These potential consequences students can encounter promote a silencing of the issue and the stigma already shrouding drug dependency and addiction.
People with drug addictions are associated with many negative characteristics, according to Adi Jaffe, a former UCLA psychology lecturer and nationally recognized expert on mental health, addiction and stigma.
The perpetuation of the stigma behind drug dependence and addiction, despite the availability of resources, dissuades students on campus from opening up about their experiences with drug dependence and addiction and seeking the appropriate help to put them on the road to recovery.
The influence of stigma on one’s ability to recover can be complicated and complex, but defining a solution to the issue can start with understanding the various factors that make college students more susceptible to drug misuse, dependency and addiction.
College provides a variety of networks students can connect with, some of which can facilitate access to drugs and promote their misuse. Drug use may start off as a casual activity at first, but it can escalate as social pressures at college push students to misuse substances.
“In college ... (drug use) is one of those things you really get to explore in a way that wasn't possible when you were in high school,” Jaffe said.
At age 18, while attending a local music event in Fontana, California, Lee, a fourth-year sociology student who asked to remain anonymous, was introduced to cocaine.
“My first reaction was, ‘Wow, this is super fun.’ Granted, I didn’t really find out about all the health consequences until later, I just thought it was really cool at the time,” he said.
According to the AddictionCenter, curiosity is a factor that can be attributed to high rates of drug misuse. College students, like Lee, are meeting new people, joining organizations and exploring themselves during their time as an undergraduate student. Drug experimentation falls within that curiosity, and the social pressures to binge drink present in certain circles at UCLA can exacerbate substance use.
There was a time during Lee’s second year at UCLA when status within his friend group was determined by how much he could drink. According to Lee, snorting cocaine was a way to drink more because it works as stimulant.
“If you had a long night of drinking ahead of you, there’s always some homie who’s got the little baggy (of cocaine). If you have that and a couple of friends, you guys could drink for hours,” Lee said.
Lee described the mix of cocaine and drinking as the ultimate social lubricant.
“You’re talking a mile a minute, but you’re not really talking about anything substantial. It makes you feel really amped and very sociable too,” Lee said.
A high social status wasn’t just placed on who could drink the most in Lee’s friend group, but also on who could provide cocaine for those who wanted to partake. According to research from Addiction Campuses, the price of a single gram of cocaine can cost anywhere from $50 to $150.
“It's a status symbol. If you have the money to afford to be buying cocaine every week for when you go out, that's not cheap. If you’re the one who can provide these drugs, then you’re perceived with more value. From what I’ve seen, people just want to hang out with you more,” Lee said.
Lee’s use of cocaine escalated as he began surrounding himself with people who supplied his cravings. Lee said he consciously changed his social circles during his second year at UCLA and began gearing his actions toward possibly attaining another gram of coke.
“I started changing my spending habits and who I talked to because your social circle is a large determinant of how you’re going to get drugs. That was when I started talking to some less-than-stellar characters because I knew those people would be avenues for me to get drugs. You may not think that your personality changes, but the way you go about your day definitely does,” Lee said.
With the normalization of drug use to heighten sociability and status within the collegiate experience, it’s easy to say the social environment contributes to dependency and addiction in college. But it’s far from being the only factor.
Lectures, discussions, endless amounts of reading assignments, lab research, midterms, finals, internship applications, part-time jobs ... the list goes on. The pressure to succeed is felt every single day by UCLA students. It grows vastly from just week one to week five, and remains buzzing in their heads until the end of finals.
For some college students – facing these outstanding pressures to succeed academically – drugs become a coping mechanism for handling stress.
A study by the Anxiety and Depression Association of America found that 85 percent of college students reported feeling overwhelmed by their obligations during the year.
Substance use is exacerbated by the anxiety-inducing and stressful environment found in college, Jaffe said. He said though some students use substances as a way to cope with a new environment and manage stress, it can quickly spiral out of control.
Third-year electrical engineering student Matt Ma said he began smoking marijuana frequently to help him cope with the stress of his studies.
“I was so used to having a joint every day. It kind of helped me itemize all the stuff I had to do. After a certain level, I learned to function with it and enjoyed doing my homework high. It really got the engine going for all the assignments I had to do,” Ma said.
He said he would light up every chance he got, and eventually he was able to complete his daily tasks while high. Knocking out his circuit theory problems one by one, painting portraits, even dabbling in computer-animated design all became routine activities that were enhanced by his marijuana usage. Ma said it got to a point in which he could not access his creative side nor fuel his motivation to complete school work without being under the influence.
Similarly, Lee used drugs to help him cope with the stressful academic environment, but instead of lighting a joint, he prefered bumps of cocaine during cram sessions and all-nighters in Powell Library. He says it was a crutch for him to manage his heavy workload as a former pre-psychology student during his second year, and that it enabled him to keep up with the fast-paced environment that inhabits UCLA every quarter.
“In an environment like this where you see everybody succeeding, it can be very hard to compete when you are not living up to that perceived standard. So I think a lot of students fall into (drug misuse) where they’re using it for the wrong reasons because of the stressful environment that's happening in school,” Lee said.
The social and academic environment college students face can make it easier to begin misusing substances. For some, the issue can spiral into dependency or addiction, and the stigma that has historically been associated with both complicates the ability to recover and seek on-campus resources.
“Every quarter, you get the chancellor's email reminding people that UCLA is a drug-free zone and that (substance misuse) will not be tolerated,” Jaffe said. “Well, that's great, but what are we doing for the people who are struggling to meet that standard other than telling them that's not okay?”
UCLA does acknowledge drug dependency in its substance misuse brochure, sent to all students and faculty at the beginning of each quarter. The email states UCLA’s goal to “foster the highest standards of integrity throughout the campus community” and must be accomplished by ensuring the campus remain free of substance use. The email also refers those who may be struggling to seek help from Counseling and Psychological Services, UCLA Residential Life, Bruins for Recovery, the Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center and the UCLA Office of the Dean of Students.
But then the email takes a more serious tone.
“Any member or group of the campus community violating university policies or local, state or federal regulations related to alcohol or substances will be subject to review and potential disciplinary action,” reads the brochure.
These potential disciplinary actions include warning, censure, loss of privileges and exclusion from activities, restitution, suspension, and dismissal for the possession, manufacture, sale, and or distribution of any controlled substance or scheduled drug, as listed on the University of California Policy on Substance Abuse, which is linked in the brochure.
The Office of the Dean of Students and UCLA Media Relations declined to comment directly on substance abuse policies, instead referring to online resources containing the information.
UCLA’s drug-free campus policy poses a difficult dilemma for students who have experienced or continue to live with drug dependencies or addiction, Jaffe said. He added that UCLA having a drug-free policy means it is difficult for someone to be open about their experiences without being at serious risk of being suspended or expelled because of their substance use.
“The drug-free zone at UCLA doesn’t eliminate drug use, it eliminates openness about drug use,” Jaffe said.
Students are not only scared to discuss their substance misuse with counselors; some simply choose not to talk about it.
Ma said he is reluctant to share his past struggles with drugs to available on-campus resources because he doesn’t believe it would be helpful for him. Instead of going to campus resources, Ma has taken recovery into his own hands by teaching himself to moderate his drug use because he feels the university is not taking the right approach to recovery.
“I definitely feel like (UCLA is) trying to help you at the end of the day, they’re just going about it in a way that's counterintuitive. I don’t think demonizing drugs is the way to do it,” Ma said.
Ma believes that UCLA tries to protect its reputation as one of the best public universities in the world, and that drug users don’t fit the image UCLA tries to promote.
Similarly, Lee, who has also recovered without the use of campus programs, said he would never consider opening up about his past struggles with drugs to campus resources because he believes it is not a wise decision.
“I just don’t think it's wise for a student to confide in the university on matters that may be considered criminal. I don’t think the encouragement is to get help, it’s just to be quiet about it,” Lee said. “There are a lot of conflicting motives in saying, ‘I want this to be a drug-free campus, but also if you need help, come to my office hours.’ That seems sketchy.”
Both Ma and Lee, like many other students, felt that addressing their problems with misuse with campus programs can be counterintuitive and potentially pose severe consequences. However, campus organizations have made efforts to provide a safe space for discussing recovery.
With the help of Colby Moss, a clinical social worker at CAPS, Bruins for Recovery became the newest community added to the Bruin Resource Center in 2014. The program seeks to provide a safe and sober environment where undergraduate students, graduate students, staff, faculty and alumni can flourish and fight the stigma of behavioral, drug and alcohol addiction, according to its mission statement. B4R provides a space for students in recovery to discuss their past experiences with dependency or addiction among other students.
“The mission is to provide a support network, a place where students can meet each other, identify resources for support and then provide individual support as necessary that upholds and supports their identity as a person in recovery, ” said Jean Libby, the program director of the UCLA Collegiate Recovery Program and Students with Dependents.
B4R holds sober social events for its members to connect in addition to usual weekly meetings in Student Activities Center Suite B44. These events include community hikes in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, Sober Happy Hours and sober tailgates to UCLA football games at the Rose Bowl.
Libby also said B4R tries to make the experience of recovery seamless for students. The organization takes into account how a student goes from misusing a substance to identifying themselves as someone in need of recovery. Libby said B4R is not a treatment center, but it instead provides a community for students who have taken action toward recovery.
“Once a student has come forward, it takes so much bravery for them to walk through the door and say, ‘Hey I’m here for a meeting,’” she said. “We don’t ask anything about how they identify as in recovery, we just welcome them. If a student has walked in, they’ve already done the hard part of acknowledging that they may be struggling and want to seek support.”
Whatever phase of recovery members may be in, B4R tries to meet them at their point and welcome them into the weekly meetings and social events organized throughout the quarter.
While serving as the Collegiate Recovery Program director, Libby said she has found members feel less isolated and more validated when they listen to other students’ experiences with recovery.
“It’s that form of mutual understanding and shared experience that is really powerful for not only students in recovery but for any student group across campus,” Libby said.
However, not having a clear way to identify students in recovery makes it difficult for the organization to inform students of the resources available. Libby said the only way she is able to inform the campus members of these resources is through having conversations with different staff members, community partners like CAPS, and students. By opening the conversation and making the resources for recovery known, community members can refer students to seek available support.
“I hope that every staff member and faculty member on UCLA’s campus knows that there’s a Collegiate Recovery Program and that students in recovery exist on this campus and that they know we’re here to support those students,” Libby said.
The consequences for drug use or possession mentioned in UCLA’s substance misuse brochure make it difficult for students to discuss their experiences with dependency and addiction. It’s a topic that's best kept in silence because the term “drug dependency” and “addiction” are not phrases most wish to associate themselves with, so why bother seeking help?
Jaffe and Lee acknowledge people dependent or addicted on drugs are often viewed in a negative light, which makes it difficult for students to open up and use the resources available to them out of fear of being associated with those characteristics.
“The whole image of being an outstanding student does not correlate with being dependent on drugs. I don’t think you’re encouraged to seek help, you’re just encouraged to not look like an addict,” Lee said.
From an institutional standpoint, UCLA has to do more than just inform substance misusers on campus that support groups like B4R are readily available. UCLA must assure students that despite the potential consequences listed in the brochure, students with drug dependencies or addictions can open up without the fear of punishment.
But the responsibility to truly aid those in recovery and to destigmatize views on drug dependency and addiction oncampus extends itself beyond the institution and onto the campus community. Only through destigmatizing our views on drug use can we as a campus open up a much-needed conversation.