Substance use impacts academic functioning

College is a time of great learning and experience that will often stick with students for the rest of their lives. It is also a time when some students start to use substances, some for the firs time. According to the American College Health Association’s National College Health Assessment, 72.6% of GVSU students drank alcohol in the last 30 days prior to the survey. Alcohol is the number one substance used by college students followed by marijuana and study drugs like Adderall. Substance use can have significant impacts on students’ academic success. Alcohol and drug use can impact motivation, cognition, memory, and concentration. Substance use is associated with lower GPAs for students who use compared to non-substance users. Those who use both alcohol and marijuana have an average GPA of 2.66 (Meda, et al, 2017). Often times, students are unaware of the impacts of their substance use on their educational performance or do not attribute concerns to their substance use. College is a crucial time for students to be educated on the impacts and implications of alcohol and drug use.