Facts

• In California, the legal drinking age is 21 years old.
• Alcohol is a depressant and it slows down the body’s systems.
• The liver can only metabolize about one drink per hour.
• No amount of alcohol is safe during pregnancy.
• Alcohol is harmful to developing brains from before birth through young adulthood.
• Combining alcohol with drugs or medications (prescribed and over-the-counter) can be deadly.
• About 20% of college students meet the criteria for alcohol dependence, aka Alcohol Use Disorder.
• A person doesn’t have to drink every day to have a drinking problem.

Effects of Alcohol on the Body

Immediate: Lower amounts of alcohol can cause relaxation and a lowering of inhibitions. As the blood alcohol level rises it can cause impaired judgment and reasoning, slower reaction times, slurred speech, nausea, and loss of balance. With a blood alcohol level of 0.3% and above, you will likely see signs of Alcohol Poisoning: loss of bladder control, vomiting, cold skin, slow or irregular breathing, memory loss, seizures, loss of consciousness, coma, and death.

DANGER: If you are with someone who starts to show signs of Alcohol Poisoning:

1. Stay with them, don’t leave them alone.
2. If the condition worsens or they pass out, get help and call 911.

Long-term: Regular drinking over days, weeks, months or years will increase the likelihood of falls, burns, motor vehicle accidents, assaults, drowning, liver disease, heart disease, stroke, stomach ulcers, weak bones, weak immunity, brain damage, mental health problems and cancer (breast, mouth, throat, esophagus, liver, colon and rectum).

How to Drink Responsibly

If you drink, follow these rules of thumb:

• Don’t drink on an empty stomach
• Have a Designated Driver (someone who promises not to drink during the outing)
• Have no more than one drink per hour
• Drink a glass of water for every alcoholic drink consumed

What is Binge Drinking?

“Binge drinking” is a drinking a lot of alcohol in a such a short amount of time that it causes a blood alcohol level of 0.08% or higher.

• For men, this typically occurs by drinking 5 drinks in 2 hours.
• For women, it usually occurs by drinking 4 drinks in 2 hours.

What counts as a “one” drink?

• 12 oz bear, 5% alcohol content
• 8 oz malt liquor, 7% alcohol content
• 5 oz wine, 12% alcohol content
• 1.5 oz distilled spirits, 40% alcohol content

What is a Hangover?

Most of the symptoms of a hangover are caused by dehydration. These symptoms include: headache, nausea, dry mouth, dry eyes, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, restlessness, and diarrhea. The symptoms last until you fully rehydrate and metabolize all the alcohol left in your blood stream. How quickly this happens depends on many things including your age, gender, health, body mass and the amount of alcohol in your body. It can take up to 25 hours. The best way to avoid a hangover is to drink in moderation and to stay well-hydrated.

Where to get Help

This group of drugs includes:

Heroin, fentanyl, and prescription pain relievers such as: oxycodone/OxyContin/Percocet, hydrocodone/Vicodin/Norco, codeine, morphine, etc. There are many street names, i.e.: oxy, percs, vike, Miss Emma, School Boy, Smack, TNT, Chill Pills, O-Bomb, Dance Fever…see Street & Commercial Names for more information.

Opioids can cause pain relief, euphoria, drowsiness, slow breathing, and death. It only takes a few uses before addiction begins to kick in. Death from an opioid overdose happens when too much of the drug overwhelms the brain and interrupts the body’s natural drive to breathe. Drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S.

Synthetic fentanyl is the deadliest drug currently circulating in the U.S. Just 2 mg (the equivalent of 10-15 grains of table salt) can kill you. Fake pills made to resemble Oxycontin®, Percocet®, Vicodin®, Adderall®, Xanax® and other medicines have been found to be laced with synthetic fentanyl.

Synthetic fentanyl is poisonous. Do not handle it.

To test for the presence of fentanyl, use fentanyl test strips. These are available free of charge from the Wellness Center in Building 5, Room 302. Use caution: no test is 100% accurate and fentanyl may still be present if the test is negative. For more information on how to use test strips, visit the CDC's Fentanyl Test Strips page.”

Signs of opioid overdose:

• Small, constricted “pinpoint pupils”
• Falling asleep or loss of consciousness
• Slow, shallow breathing
• Choking or gurgling sounds
• Limp body
• Pale, blue, or cold skin

If you suspect an overdose, act immediately:

1. This is an EMERGENCY. If you are on CSM campus, get Narcan ASAP:
   • Call Public Safety at (650) 738-7000. Program this # into your cell phone.
   • Know your location and a description of the person in need of help
   • NEXTDistro.org - Narcan resources in California
2. Call 911
3. Keep the person awake and breathing
4. Lay the person on their side to prevent choking
5. Wait with them until help arrives.

CDPH video on preventing overdose: Protect friends and family with lifesaving naloxone

A short but powerful video on Fentanyl Overdoses

Recovery:

1. Get help at CSM by contacting Personal Counseling
2. San Mateo County Health 24/7 Access Call Center (800) 686-0101; TTY for the Hearing Impaired - call 711
   • Substance Use Treatment Services