About Alcohol and Other Drugs

Vision

NC State University is a place that challenges its members to flourish with the support of a nurturing community. The NC State community expects behavior that builds success that does not compromise personal beliefs, morals, or ethics through inappropriate use of mind-altering substances. NC State has a unified expectation of behavior among all members that is inclusive of self-care and personal responsibility.

Mission

The mission of the Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention Education program is to create and sustain a caring community that prepares students to succeed academically, professionally, and personally as well as to become informed, engaged, and productive citizens by reducing the potential unwanted results of substance misuse.

Learn more about alcohol and other drugs

Alcohol

While drinking is a part of some student’s social activities, it is not central to the lives of most NC State students. There are thousands of activities offered at NC State and surrounding areas that do not involve drinking.

Explore the role that alcohol plays in your life and others as well as identify ways you can make low-risk choices concerning alcohol use. Some educational materials on this site promote low-risk alcohol consumption and should not be construed as endorsing or promoting underage consumption.

Cannabis

According to the most recent Monitoring the Future study, “Prevalence did not significantly change in 2018 for adolescent use of inhalants, heroin, hallucinogens, MDMA (ecstasy, Molly), cocaine, amphetamines, methamphetamine, cannabis (overall use by any method), smokeless tobacco, snus, dissolvable tobacco, hookah, small cigars, large cigars, alcohol use, extreme binge drinking (having 10 or 15 more drinks in a row on one or more occasions in the prior two weeks), or flavored alcoholic beverages.”

Opioids

Opioids are a class of drugs that bind to receptors in the brain associated with increased pleasure and a decrease in the body’s response to pain. Opioids can either be derived naturally from the opium poppy or made synthetically. These drugs are regularly used as cough suppressants, for pain management, and in anesthesia. Common opioid medications are codeine, hydrocodone, morphine, and oxycodone. While these medications are often prescribed as take-home prescriptions, the potency and risks associated with physical tolerance and misuse varies.

Nicotine

Nicotine is typically delivered to users through tobacco products, such as cigarettes, hookah, or smokeless tobacco, and more recently has been available in a non-tobacco form delivered through electronic cigarettes or e-cigs. It may also be administered for short periods in the form of FDA regulated Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) via gum, patch, or lozenge as part of tobacco cessation treatment.

Medication Safety

Everyone needs to be aware of the potential dangers of misusing prescription medications. Here is a link to information that can enhance medication safety among college students. One way people misuse prescription drugs is taking a drug prescribed for another person. While it may seem harmless, it is risky and it is also illegal, for both the person taking the drug(s) and the prescription holder, if that person knowingly gave it to them. This is known as Altruistic Medication Sharing.