By Sara Goldenberg – Sep. 23, 2025
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Illegal drug use continues to send young adults to the hospital.
Eighteen to 25 year olds make up 11 percent of nearly 8 million drug-related emergency room visits in the United States every year, according to a national report.
Many of those cases involve college students.
The Drug Enforcement Administration just launched a campaign to prevent drug abuse on campus.
As college students get settled into a routine for the new school year, their parents hope that routine doesn’t include illegal drugs.
Illegal drug use over the past year was highest among young adults 18 to 25 years old at 39 percent, according to a 2023 report with the most recent government data.
The report was published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a federal agency known as SAMHSA.
We spoke with Joseph Dixon, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Detroit field division, which includes Ohio.
“So those students who are, you know, transitioning from high school and going into college, being out on their own, not having as much parental oversight, we feel that it’s our duty to ensure that we’re providing them the resources and tools to ensure that they have a great college experience, but also a safe college experience,” he said.
The DEA is traveling to campuses across the state, educating students about the dangers that can be disguised in just one pill.
“Fentanyl is one of the deadliest drugs we’ve ever seen. And we know that as these young men and women begin to really grow into themselves and start to engage with these new groups that they might ask for a prescription Percocet or a Valium or a Xanax,” Dixon said.
Those prescription drugs should only be taken by the person their prescribed to.
You never know what’s in it if you’re getting those pills another way.
We asked what parents can do.
“The best tool is just to be engaged in your child’s life, now your adult’s life. Your young adult’s life. Have a conversation with them. See how things are going. You know, if they don’t sound right, ask them what’s wrong,” Dixon said.
Educators and mentors on campus can really help too.
“Have conversations, prepare your students, your future students, your future leaders, you know, your future graduates, prepare them to go out and be successful and have these conversations and just know that, you know, one pill can kill,” he said.
Nearly one quarter of college students reported using an illegal drug in the past 30 days, according to the national study we referenced above.