Young people are dying of opioid overdoses. Are students and campuses prepared?

Overdose death rates have spiked dramatically for young adults, rising 34 percent between 2018 and 2022, according to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Yet, there are ways to mitigate the risk of overdose, and even ways to reverse it.Notably there's Narcan.It's a brand of the medication naloxone, and it's often used in the form of nasal spray. If administered quickly, it can fully reverse an opioid overdose.Are college campuses and their students prepared?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Overdose death rates have spiked dramatically for young adults, rising 34 percent between 2018 and 2022, according to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Yet, there are ways to mitigate the risk of overdose, and even ways to reverse it. Notably there's Narcan.

It's a brand of the medication naloxone, and it's often used in the form of nasal spray. If administered quickly, it can fully reverse an opioid overdose. Are college campuses and their students prepared? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for C onsider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.

npr.org . Email us at considerthis@npr.

org . This episode was produced by Kathryn Fink.It was edited by Diane Webber and Courtney Dorning.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun..