University security personnel fight opioid epidemic

Responding to the nationwide opioid epidemic in the US, security personnel at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, are now required to carry a drug that can reverse the effects of an overdose.

Opioid abuse has become so widespread among college students that the university now mandates the inclusion of a course about the effects of opioid use in their security officers’ certification programme. Naloxone, a drug that reverses the effects of an accidental overdose, is now contained in medical emergency response kits carried by security officers, said Pat Cunningham, Chief of Campus Security at the university.

Statistics compiled by the US National Institute on Drug Abuse show that about 15% of college students are likely to abuse opioids. Abusers often experience medical complications, which are sometimes fatal. Those who become addicted commonly turn to heroin abuse for an increased high, raising the chances of a fatal overdose.

The statistics do not surprise Dr Ken Corbit, a professor at Belmont University, who previously worked at an opioid treatment clinic. He said that college students have an alarming lack of understanding about the potentially harmful effects of abusing opioids. He said that opioid abuse follows a progressive track, with users looking for an increased high by taking riskier measures, such as injecting drugs into the bloodstream. This can result in HIV or hepatitis C when using contaminated needles.

To increase awareness to the problem, Belmont University has commenced a series of student assemblies about substance abuse, including what steps to take to avoid addiction.