Reflection- Alcohol and Drugs

I really enjoyed the day that Ms. Stinson came in to talk about alcohol and drugs and their influence on the lives of college age students. She was very knowledgeable, and informative. I think we often don't think about certain things affecting our future, and our current lives, like alcohol and drugs like adderall, many college students don't find to be as threatening as other drugs like cocaine, and heroin. However, the affects that "less serious" drugs or alcohol can have on the body, can also be life threatening or could cause a person to make life threatening choices.

She talked a lot about how alcohol specifically inhibits our judgement which could be very dangerous in social or sexual situations. I think most college students are aware of this, but don't realize how easily this could happen to them. Ms. Stinson, told the class about what the average amount of alcohol in certain drinks is, and how long the body takes to process these types of alcohol. I think it is always good to remind students the affects that frequent, and large consumption of alcohol and drugs can have on their personal lives, and relationships both spiritual and with other people.

She specifically asked the class not engage in shot taking, as this practice gives the body more alcohol than it can possibly process. I think shots are such a common thing on a college campus I had never really thought about before how dangerous they can be if too many are consumed within a certain amount of time. I think it is difficult for people to realize that a shot has as much alcohol as a drink, because they are not actually consuming as much liquid so not everyone realizes these affects.

I liked that she didn't tell people not to engage in drinking activities, because that isn't a realistic expectation on a college campus. However, she did give some reasonable pointers on how to be at a lower risk while drinking. I do not think that this can change the way everyone drinks, but I think awareness will help people who have heard her presentation to maybe think twice about their drink choice, or how much alcohol they are pouring for themselves before they go out, because they are now more aware of what a standard drink is, and what some of the negative affects are. This is definitely a public health issue, because of the prevalence of binge drinking on a college campus.

My remaining questions are, "Do presentations and awareness actually decrease the presence of binge drinking on college campuses?" , "At this age, do most college students care about the affects of alcohol and drugs, or are they living in the moment?"

Mackenzie Lavelle