While movies and media often represent college as a time of constant partying, bad decisions, and poor judgement, higher education professionals know from data and direct conversations with students that this does not apply to all students, or all universities. As educators, we have observed that programs such as DARE—with its “just say no”—mantra are ineffective and simply do not work. We know from engaging with students that there are many who may be curious about substances offered to them at a party or a friend’s house, and that many will give them a try. Some will decide to continue to explore substances and regularly experiment with drugs throughout their time in college, and beyond. And for our current college students experimenting during the time of the fentanyl epidemic, education, awareness, and harm reduction are lifesaving tools for every student on every campus.
According to the National Harm Reduction Coalition, harm reduction is a set of practical strategies aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use. Rather than telling people what to do, harm reduction provides people with the knowledge and tools necessary for them to make informed choices. These strategies include overdose prevention and response training, naloxone and fentanyl test-strip distribution, and access to campus and community resources that provide support for treatment and prevention with a person-centered compassionate approach.
Over the last decade, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has tracked an explosion of synthetic opioids causing or contributing to overdoses in the U.S. While those rates seem to have peaked, the need for continued education continues. Fentanyl, a highly lethal synthetic opioid, caused or contributed to 1,097 deaths in Colorado in 2023 (CDPHE). In our campus’ overdose response training, we include language such as “accidental poisoning,” given the data that demonstrates the number of fentanyl-laced drugs contributing to accidental overdoses. Fentanyl is the leading drug associated with overdose deaths (CDC) and is commonly found in recreational drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy/MDMA. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) reports that fentanyl is also frequently found in counterfeit pills that look like prescription Adderall, Xanax, and Oxycodone. Nearly half of all counterfeit pills tested contained a lethal dose of fentanyl.
On college campuses across the state and country, harm reduction strategies are becoming more prevalent as leaders recognize the life-saving effects of this approach. At the University of Colorado, Denver, we provide monthly Opioid Overdose Prevention and Accidental Poisoning Response Trainings to educate our campus community on how to recognize the signs and symptoms of an overdose, how to administer naloxone, and to raise awareness to other campus and community resources, such as our partner, Keep The Party Safe. Keep The Party Safe is a campaign that aims to reduce the number of fentanyl overdose deaths in Colorado by educating and empowering people to prevent or reverse fentanyl overdoses.
With the prevalence of fentanyl unknowingly mixed into substances today, we recognize that harm reduction and education can help to directly save a life. Naloxone is a medicine that rapidly reverses an overdose by attaching to opioid receptors and reversing and blocking the effect of other opioids for 30-60 minutes. Naloxone helps to quickly restore normal breathing to a person if their breathing has shallowed or stopped due to an opioid overdose. Naloxone is easy to administer, has no potential for misuse, and even works after its expiration date. By simply carrying Naloxone to parties and events, college students regain the power to protect themselves and their friends from accidental fentanyl overdose. Since naloxone cannot be administered by the individual experiencing the overdose, groups of friends should always have someone take turns being the designated sober friend, in case someone needs help.
At the Auraria campus in downtown Denver, naloxone is available for any campus member in person at CU Denver Naloxone Training, Lynx Central Main Desk, the AHEC Police Department, and the Health Center at Auraria (fentanyl testing strips are also available at this location). Are you a student at a different university? Swing by your health center to ask where you can get naloxone on your campus! Naloxone can now be found in pharmacies across Colorado with no prescription needed. You can also catch organizations like Keep The Party Safe at local concerts and other events across the area where naloxone and fentanyl test strips are available, for free!
May 7 is International Harm Reduction Day. If you know or love a college student or young adult, you know that there are already enough things for them to worry about. For many, experiencing independence and making decisions for themselves for the first time is an integral part of one’s late teens and early twenties. Young adults should feel empowered to make their own informed decisions around partying, and with harm reduction tools such as naloxone easily within reach, there are proven ways to keep the party safe. Take time to think, who can I share this crucial information with? Let’s take action together and work to ensure that everyone has the knowledge and resources to keep themselves and others safe.