When it comes to substance abuse on the University campus, many students do not think cocaine use is a major issue when compared to consumption of alcohol and other drugs.
“I haven’t seen it as a problem,” LSA freshman Greg Baumann said. “I’ve been to enough parties, but I haven’t seen any use of it.”
According to the 2001 University of Michigan Student Life Survey of undergraduate students conducted by the Student Abuse Research Center, the percentage of students who reported cocaine use is small compared to other substances.
The survey found that 1.9 percent reported using cocaine in the past year, while 0.9 percent reported use in the past month. The survey also included prevalence rates for other drugs in the past year, such as alcohol (86 percent), marijuana (33 percent), ecstasy (7 percent), tranquilizers (2 percent), inhalants (2 percent) and crystal methamphetamine (0.2 percent).
“I don’t hear about a lot of people doing it on this campus. I definitely know more people who do a lot of other drugs,” RC sophomore James Scott Duthie said. “There’s been a few times when it’s been offered to me at parties but I don’t know of anyone who does it regularly.”
But an LSA sophomore and former cocaine addict said he knows a lot of students who use the drug occasionally. The student, who requested to remain anonymous, recently admitted himself into off-campus rehabilitation for drug use.
“I didn’t like the people I was hanging out with, they were all users, and I really realized that I wasn’t happy most of the time.”
He said students who use cocaine usually fall into two groups – those who occasionally use it at parties and those who use it as a study aid.
“They’ll do it when they’re a little stressed,” he said. “When you’re fatigued, you can forget that you’re tired. It gives you a little push.”
He also said the drug is fairly easy to obtain on campus.
“There’s a very large drug community in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti,” he said, adding that there are certain areas where students can go to purchase cocaine and some students bring supplies from their home communities.
“There’s a lot of people who, as a side job, use their connections from back home.”
He sought help at the University’s Counseling and Psychological Services but said he would not recommend it to other addicts.
“They’re really good with alcoholism. They don’t have the resources for major drug addiction.”
Patrice Flax, the Alcohol and Other Drugs Campus Initiatives Coordinator at University Health Services, said her office mostly focuses on student alcohol abuse.
“So many of the problems that students struggle with are related to alcohol,” Flax said.
She said there are resources available such as informational pamphlets for students who are struggling with cocaine addiction. They often refer students seeking help to Counseling and Psychological Services.
But Flax said the University has no initiatives underway to combat cocaine use, although they would consider doing it in the future if officials notice any sudden changes in student usage.
“We’re always monitoring the student survey information,” she said.
Sean McCabe, an assistant research scientist at the University Substance Abuse Research Center, said the prevalence of cocaine use at the University is lower than the national average of 4.7 percent for college students according to Monitoring the Future, a study conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
“The prevalence of several other drugs among University undergraduates are also lower than national averages,” McCabe said.