Decrease in reported UNCW student illegal drug use

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) —UNCW says there are less students being charged and suspended due to drug use this year in comparison to previous years.

According to the numbers gathered from 2018 to 2021, UNCW averaged 18 illegal drug possession charges per year at the university’s main campus. In 2018, there were 28 student-related illegal drug charges at the university. That number dropped to 10 last year.

Dean of Students, Mike Walker, attributes the decrease in charges to the number of services and programs available on campus, like a program offered to students when they ae freshman, student health services offers help to students with illegal drug use patterns and addictions.

“We’ve got health promotions, staff who go out into the community, talk to students, that work with the RA’s, they may have theme based programs, such as a theme around St. Patrick’s Day, because we know that’s a higher use pattern, or certainly Spring Break. Every single year there will be a Safe Spring Break campaign around safety associated with Spring Break and associated behaviors,” said Mike Walker, Dean of Students.

Walker shared what he estimates the number of student illegal drug charges will be this year.

“My staff tells me that there are going to be around the same number as last year, I would say between 10 and 15 by the end of this academic year. So it’s still lower than year 2018-19. VOCID may have perfected that some, because there were some periods where we had fewer students on campus,” said Walker.

He says although there are less students undergoing disciplinary actions for illegal drug use, there is something on the market that is legal, but still a concern to his office.

“In terms of trends, most colleges and universities right now are seeing a rise in use of students legal THC-based products, like Delta-8 and other legal variations of THC, and they’re not necessarily healthy for you, and they’re also makes it sometimes hard to detect the difference between a legal and illegal substance,” said Walker.

Walker says the office of the dean of students and the campus conduct board has a strong partnership with UNCW police to address and document drug violations.