Substance Use Education and Policy for College Students in Alabama

Abstract

Although college students are at risk of opioid overdose, abstinence-based approaches to substance use education and policy on college campuses may restrict students’ access to support and treatment. This qualitative study examined student, faculty, and staff perspectives of overdose education and policy at a large public university in the Southeastern U.S. to identify how the Drug-Free Campus and Workplace Policy affected students and their solutions for increasing access to substance use education on campus. Fourteen (n = 14) participants enrolled in this study. Two in-person focus groups were conducted with student participants (n = 9). Five interviews were conducted over Zoom with faculty and staff participants (n = 5). The researchers found three themes during thematic analysis, including the perceived harm of abstinence-based policy, the administration’s responsibility to ensure student safety, and the need for overdose education and resources such as naloxone on campus. Harm reduction approaches to substance use education and policy are well suited for instilling safer substance use practices in college students and reducing overdoses on college campuses. This study was the first in Alabama to examine these critical groups’ lived experience of the Drug-Free Campus and Workplace Policy.