University is a time where many people begin to have more independence, as well as responsibility and with this comes stress. Many people often choose to deal with this stress through the use of substances such as alcohol or other drugs in order to help them function on a day to day basis. Study drugs such as Adderall are widely used on campuses to help people complete assignments or study for exams. On the Queen’s campus specifically, it is widely known that the use of cocaine is prevalent amongst the student community. With the legalization of weed, many people may use it to help them sleep after a stress-filled day.
In regards to drug use within the Queen’s community as well as the wider Kingston community, it is interesting to me how there is a separation between what kind of drug use is “acceptable” and what drug use is “unacceptable”. The reason why drug use often gets labelled as acceptable or unacceptable basically boils down to the idea that as Queen’s students we are able to still be “functioning members of society” whereas people who use drugs outside of this are seen as unable to function. For example, someone who is a student could be using a study drug every day during exams in order to help them focus, which is seen as “acceptable” by other students. However, if someone is using a drug such as heroin to help them handle everyday life, it is not seen as “acceptable” by the community. I want to bring this up to draw a comparison that in both cases, drugs are being used in order to help the person deal with things that are going on in their lives. Just because one drug is seen as more “acceptable” does not mean in reality that we as Queen’s students are above others who also use drugs.
