When a community makes a concerted effort to combat a problem
it must first correctly identify that specific problem.
Alcohol is a drug and one of the most widely used, but it is
not Chico’s only problem. It has become obvious that Chico University and
the community are willing to specifically target alcohol, but want no part in
addressing other drugs which have actually caused more student deaths than
alcohol.
Paul Zingg, the media and anyone else are wrong if they identify
the overdose death of students solely as an alcohol problem. Students’ deaths in Chico have been caused by
a genre of drugs. Many types of drugs in
many combinations are killing Chico’s students.
This is a fact. Some reading this
may say this is a trivial point, but quite the opposite is true.
Almost half of full-time college
students binge drink and/or abuse prescription and illegal drugs, according to Wasting the Best and Brightest: Substance Abuse at America's Colleges and
Universities (Columbia University CASA report). To quantify student overdose deaths in
Chico as only an alcohol problem makes the costly and extremely important work of
a community coalition more difficult and less effective.
Believing alcohol is an approachable problem while treating
other drug overdoses as a not our concern issue is foolish. By addressing drugs as the problem effective
prevention becomes inclusive not selective which produces better outcomes. This should be the priority.
James C. Bettencourt
