College is the place that many youth get introduced to Adderall, pot, prescription drugs and binge drinking.  It is only fitting that it also be a purveyor of drug prevention and education.  Good for AdCare North Dartmouth for providing it.

The indication that these classes are going to include responsibility as part of prevention is the fact that alcohol dependency is not relegated only to “hereditary” difficulties.  This is a cop-out and can make it nearly impossible to even think that quitting is possible, since it is “in the genes”.  Pointing out that continued drinking can increase the dependency places responsibility on the shoulders of the drinker, not the gene pool.

Hopefully, all the substance abuse education is emphasizing personal responsibility.  It is really the only way that anything goes right in this world.

“The AdCare North Dartmouth Outpatient Clinic in Massachusetts is offering a College Substance Abuse Education Group, developed and administered by Alicen J. McGowan, director of outpatient services, the Herald News reported on February 21.

The group began at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in September as a pilot program with six students, and grew in January to twelve participants from various surrounding colleges. Students, some referred through courts or parents, attend a group meeting once a week with McGowan in addition to a weekly individual counseling session.

McGowan designed the program to resemble a college class, so that students felt comfortable. Sessions range in subject matter from the health effects of cocaine to the connection between prescription painkiller misuse and heroin use. The clinic also offers sessions on gambling, anger management, stress reduction and peer pressure.

During one session, the group explored the causes of alcohol dependency, and McGowan explained to the students that alcoholism is not only hereditary. “If you keep consuming, it can change your neurodependency,” said McGowan.

“The first challenge is to get people to recognize the problem,” said McGowan. “The next challenge is to get them to understand the problem.”

http://www.jointogether.org/news/headlines/communitystories/2006/program-teaches-college.html”