THE VERMONT
CYNIC Jan. 15, 2019
vtcynic.com
Government shutdown
Skiing and the environment
If the government shutdown continues, funding for University research could stall.
As winters become warmer, Vermont’s most profitable industry is threatened.
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Civic engagement 3 / Wellness Environment 4 / Roma 5
Opioids on Campus With no consensus, a problem goes unchecked Sawyer Loftus swloftus@uvm.edu
Sarah came to UVM ready to start the next chapter of her life. As the daughter of a heroin addict, she knew the dangers of the drug. But to her surprise, opioids followed her to campus. The scope of the opioid problem is not clear at UVM, but the experts are in agreement that substances like heroin are present on UVM’s campus. Within the past decade, one UVM student has died of a heroin overdose: then junior William Gates in 2009. Nationwide, opioids, including pills and substances like heroin, have gotten recent attention as more states declare health-related emergencies. During one of her first nights at UVM, Sarah — whose name has ben changed to protect her privacy — and some new friends from her dorm went out to an off-campus party where she first saw heroin in college. “[My friends] were all freaked out and they were like, ‘oh, is that coke?’” Sarah said. “And the guy [a UVM student] was like, ‘no, it’s not coke.’ These girls didn’t even know you could snort heroin.” While experts at UVM can’t provide a clear picture of how the opioid crisis impacts UVM,
Sarah, who became addicted to heroin here, said it’s a growing presence. “Now it’s in the dorms,” Sarah said. “I would say we have a problem, definitely, and if anything, I think it’s getting worse.” After that intial encounter with heroin, it was “very casually” talked about and done in front of her on campus as her friend groups changed, Sarah said. After breaking her shoulder during her first year, she developed an addiction to Oxycodone, Morphine and Percocet prescribed to her by doctors at the UVM Medical Center, Sarah said. “Pills got expensive, UVM Medical Center started cracking down and Percocet wasn’t doing it for me,” Sarah said. “But heroin’s cheap, so it was easy enough just to connect to the old people I knew at UVM who I knew were on it.” For Sarah, linking up with dealers was simple, and her main suppliers were housed on UVM’s campus, she said. “Most of my dealers started migrating out towards Trinity to be honest, towards the ‘backfive’, specifically,” Sarah said. “I found a few out on Redstone, but not as much. It was mostly the Trinity back-five.” Director of Residential Life Rafael Rodriguez did not pro-
Community Voices Dr. Harry Chen Director, Center for Health and Wellbeing
“It is a problem still, it still exists and is something that warrants a deep look.”
Christine Johnson Executive Director, Chittenden County Opioid Alliance
“Its game of inches and I don’t want to lose in a game of inches if somebody is dying in front of me.”
Amy Boyd Austin Director, Catamount Recovery Program
“We’re never going to be able to control how people choose to cope with life.”
Photo Illustration by ALEK FLEURY
Opioids, pills and substances like heroin, have gotten national attention as more and more states declare health-related emergencies. Experts are in agreement that substances like heroin are present on UVM’s campus. vide comment by time of publication. For those who work at UVM with students in recovery from addiction or substance use-disorder, Sarah’s story isn’t surprising. Amy Boyd Austin, the director of the Catamount Recovery Program, said that heroin and other opioids are present on UVM’s campus and in the community. “Opiates are definitely here,” Boyd Austin said. “In the Catamount Recovery Program, more than 50 percent of our students have used opiates. “I think that colleges kind of like to think of themselves as untouchable,” Boyd Austin said. “But of course we have people using opioids and we all need to be aware.” Dr. Harry Chen is the executive director of the Center for Health and Wellbeing and the public health officer at the University of Vermont. Opioids are a relatively small problem at UVM, he said, but they still require attention. “It still exists and is something that warrants a deep look,” he said. Before coming to UVM, Chen led Vermont’s efforts to curb a potential opioid epidemic as the state health commissioner under former Gov. Peter Shumlin, he said. During his time with the state, Chen helped design and implement the state’s actions against opioids, he said. UVM police services does not
see substances like heroin and other opioids as a big problem on campus, Deputy Chief Tim Bilodeau said. UVM police officers do carry Narcan, an opioid overdose reversal device that uses the drug naloxone, that has saved numerous lives around the country, Bilodeau said. UVM Police did not provide exact statistics for Narcan use. Boyd Austin has looked into getting Resident Advisors trained in Narcan use and providing kits in residence halls, but has been met with pushback since UVM’s insurance structure doesn’t allow for RAs to carry naloxone, she said. UVM student health services began offering naloxone anonymously to students for free within the past year, but Boyd Austin would like to see it more widely available. Chen does not think naloxone needs to be more widely distributed at UVM, he said. “I called UVM police and the average response time on campus is 90 seconds, so your time is better spent dialing 911,” he said. After getting clean through the Catamount Recovery Program, Sarah became a Resident Advisor. One of her residents was trying to kick opioids. When Sarah went to her boss and asked for Narcan, she was told she didn’t need it because heroin and other opioids weren’t in the residence halls, she said. She said she now always has
Narcan on her. Christine Johnson, the executive director for the Chittenden County Opioid Alliance, said that to her it’s simple: Narcan needs to be everywhere. “I think it should be in every residence hall [and] common areas,” Johnson said. “I just think it should be anywhere and everywhere.” Chen said he still is not prepared to make a change to University procedures. “I just don’t know that it’d be of benefit to provide [Narcan] in mass in the dorms,” Chen said. “Certainly, if somebody wants to do it individually, that’s their prerogative.” Without a clear picture it can be difficult to develop a plan of action around opioids on campus, but to Boyd Austin, the most reasonable conversation would be about harm reduction, she said, to get people aware and break down the stigma. “We’re never going to be able to control how people choose to cope with life,” Boyd Austin said. “And if nobody ever talks about it, then how difficult would it be to tell a professor or counselor, I am using an opioid and I’m afraid I might OD.” Catamount Recovery Program Information: To contact CRP, email recoverycommunity@uvm.edu or call (802)-656-0236. CRP is located in Living Well on the first floor of the Davis Center.