Prevention and Advocacy Education

Preventing Opioid Overdose: Focus on Fentanyl

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine. Drug traffickers often mix fentanyl into other drugs because it’s cheaper to produce a high with fentanyl. Fentanyl can take the form of a powder, a capsule, or can be pressed into counterfeit pills that are made to look just like prescription opioids, such as oxycodone (Oxycontin®, Percocet®) and hydrocodone (Vicodin®); alprazolam (Xanax®); or stimulants like amphetamines (Adderall®). As a result, people who use drugs can easily and unknowingly ingest fentanyl. A lethal dose of fentanyl can be as little as two milligrams—that’s a fraction of a raindrop or a few grains of salt. 

Synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, are now the most common drugs involved in drug overdose deaths in the United States.

The US Drug Enforcement Administration reports that 42% of counterfeit pills tested contained a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl. 
Help our community reduce the risk of opioid overdose: Visit our Preventing Opioid Overdose webpage for details about how you and those around you can avoid and respond to overdose.

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Alcohol

Whether or not you’re new to UNC, college is an exciting time to explore and grow. One important decision you’ll make in college is whether or not to drink. You will have friends who may choose to explore alcohol and others that may not. No matter the choice you make, it is important to understand the responsibility that comes along with drinking. So, let’s be aware!

Too often, students underestimate how much they’ve had to drink because they aren’t using standard measurements, and alcohol comes in so many different shapes and sizes. So, what does one standard drink actually mean?

What is a “standard drink” in the US?

Source: National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

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Marijuana, Tobacco, Other Substances

Our Bears are Aware! And responsible marijuana use is important at UNC.

• Marijuana

  Marijuana is the dried flowers, leaves and stems of the Cannabis sativa plant. The main active ingredient in marijuana is THC (delta 9 tetrahydrocannabinol), the chemical that causes the user to feel “high”.

  Health Effects

  Lungs: marijuana smoke contains the same cancer-causing chemicals as tobacco smoke. Daily or near daily use can result in irritation of the lungs, which can cause a cough, bronchitis, mucus, and wheezing. Heavy marijuana smoking has been linked with tissue damage in the lungs, although we need more research to determine if this tissue damage increases the chances of developing lung cancer.

  Mental Health: daily or near-daily use of marijuana can have an effect on memory, and if used in large amounts can cause hallucinations and paranoia (also known as a “bad trip”).

  Secondhand Smoke: secondhand marijuana smoke still contains the same cancer-causing chemicals as tobacco smoke. It’s important to be mindful of who is around you when you decide to light up.

  Under 21: young adults who use marijuana daily or near daily are more likely to have difficulty learning, experience memory issues, and have lower test scores.

  Laws

  • Must be 21 or older to possess or consume marijuana
  • Can only legally possess 1 ounce of TCH
  • Marijuana is prohibited on UNC’s campus (regardless of age, amount, or medical needs)
  • Possible loss of financial aid and legal charges if found on UNC’s campus
  • Selling or giving marijuana to anyone under the age of 21 is considered a felony
• Vaping and Nicotine

  E-cigarettes (also knowns as vapes or JUULs), have grown in popularity in the last few years. E-cigarettes are a battery-powered device that heats a liquid to form vapors that the user inhales. These liquids contain flavorings, nicotine, marijuana, or other potentially harmful substances. Because clinical studies about the safety of e-cigarettes have not been submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), you have no way of knowing which chemicals they contain, if they are safe, or how much nicotine you are inhaling.

  What we DO know

  • The brain is still growing and developing until the age 25. As the brain develops and continues to create memories or learns new skills, synapses are built between brain cells. Young people’s brains build synapses faster than adult brains. Addiction is considered a form of learning, which means younger people are more apt to become addicted to nicotine.
  • Some substances found in e-cigarette vapor have been linked to an increased risk of cancer.
  • Teens who vape are more likely to begin smoking cigarettes.

  The Surgeon General states:

  “The aerosol from e-cigarettes is not harmless. It can contain harmful and potentially harmful chemicals, including nicotine; ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs; flavoring such diacetyl, a chemical linked to a serious lung disease; volatile organic compounds such as benzene, which is found in car exhaust; and heavy metals, such as nickel, tin, and lead. Scientists are still working to understand more fully the health effects and harmful doses of e-cigarette contents when they are heated and turned into an aerosol, both for active users who inhale from a device and for those who are exposed to the aerosol secondhand. Another risk to consider involves defective e-cigarette batteries that have been known to cause fires and explosions, some of which have resulted in serious injuries. Most of the explosions happened when the e-cigarette batteries were being charged.”

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Sexual Health