{"id":151656,"date":"2025-09-04T14:26:03","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T19:26:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=151656"},"modified":"2025-09-04T14:26:04","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T19:26:04","slug":"news-you-can-use-fall-increases-substance-abuse-risk-for-young-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/news-you-can-use-fall-increases-substance-abuse-risk-for-young-people\/","title":{"rendered":"News You Can Use: Fall Increases Substance Abuse Risk for Young People"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

UM Magee Center offers advice, strategies for Recovery Awareness Month<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By Marisa C. Atkinson<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The start of the fall semester and college football season can also kick off rising substance use and the harms that come with it for many young people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, addiction specialists at the\u00a0University of Mississippi<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0have several recommendations to help control alcohol and drug use and avoid problems down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Society normalizes partying, drinking, using drugs as part of the college experience,” said Alysia Lajune<\/strong>, program manager for the\u00a0William Magee Center for Alcohol and Other Drugs and Wellness Education<\/strong><\/a>. “It’s part of the boxes we feel we need to check when we go to college.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A spring 2025 survey conducted by the university’s\u00a0William Magee Institute for Student Wellbeing<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0found that more than 50% of undergraduate students across Mississippi consumed some sort of harmful substance in the past month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be precise, 53% of students drank alcohol, 20% used cigarettes or electronic cigarettes, and 15% engaged in recreational drug use in the past 30 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While alcohol is the most used substance, the number of students who drink has been steadily declining. Drinking among college students is at its lowest rate \u2013 71.5% past year use, 63.0% past 30-day use \u2013 since it has been measured, according to the Monitoring the Future report<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

September marks\u00a0Recovery Awareness Month<\/strong><\/a>, making this a great time to focus on reducing addiction and its effects. The William Magee Center provides alternatives and education about harm reduction when it comes to alcohol and other drugs on campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those who choose to drink, counselors suggest several ways to experience fewer negative consequences from drinking, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n