Living the College Life: Other Drugs - How Can I Handle the Pressure I Might Feel to Try Drugs?

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When you read the word "pressure" above, you probably leaped straight to the stereotypical image that's been infused in your mind since middle school"the idea that your friends are standing in a semicircle, forcing you to engage in some conformist activity that doesn't really represent who you are.

That's one kind of pressure, to be sure, but now is a good time to file that image in the back of your mind, and consider another kind of pressure that can be equally overwhelming: pressure from within.

Most students seem to understand that college is a time to be independent and do what they want to do, for their own sake. As a result, many students interviewed say they're very comfortable responding "no" if someone offers them a substance they're not interested in. And nine times out of ten, the person offering backs off. "Peers would never hassle you or make fun because you don't smoke weed"they would merely offer you a hit if you are sitting there," says Ben Sarle (University of Vermont).

Instead of facing pressure from your friends, the pressure can mount internally to try things that others are doing. In other words, their laughter among themselves and camaraderie as they pass around a substance"with no scorn or ridicule directed at you"can be the college-level version of peer pressure.

"For the most part, you aren't going to feel pressure to light up like the television public service announcements would want you to think," says Ben. "In college, a typical pressure I experienced would be that I might walk into a room where a few of my friends are passing a bong around and ordering way too much [pizza], and I might want to take part."

Keep in mind that if you refuse an offer of drugs, it's doubtful you'll be alone. And if you are the only one in your group not using drugs regularly, instead of contemplating joining them, perhaps you should reconsider whom you're hanging out with.

"Not 'everyone' is doing it," says Kevin McPherson of the University of Texas at Austin. "I've never done drugs and I know a lot of people who haven't. I know some people who smoke weed all the time. Have bad things happened to them? Not really, but their grades slip and they just sit around all day, not doing anything but smoking"not really something to aspire to."

The people who steer clear of drugs, however, are not always nearby when you need them. Rebekah Lee (Rutgers University) says a friend of hers was ostracized by her floormates because she neither drank nor smoked pot. "She survived," reports Rebecca, who urges students in the same situation to stick to their principles and stick with their likeminded friends. "It's much easier to resist pressure when you have a few friends who feel the way you do. Don't think that giving in and partaking in something that goes against who you are will make things easier."

Grace Choe of Southern Cal urges students to rely on their collegiate sense of independence when turning down drugs. She also suggests being forceful when turning down an offer to partake in drug use. A timid response, she says, can send mixed signals that you really might just need your arm twisted: "Don't say it in a passive voice, like 'Oh . . . nooo . . . it's ooookay.' Rather, just say, 'No thanks, it's not really my thing.'"