Polysubstance Use in Student Party Culture
- BeWellAdmin
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
The Scene You Already Know
It is a familiar Kingston weekend. A few friends meet for pre-drinks with plans drift from one house to another. Someone offers a “little something,”, and by midnight the night includes more substances than anyone originally intended. Most of the time, nobody starts a night out with that intention. Instead, people are making a series of small choices in a social setting that moves fast.
That pattern has a name: polysubstance use, using more than one substance in the same session or across the same night. It is common in student party ecosystems because it fits the context: long nights, shifting plans, social pressure, experimentation, stress, and people trying to change how they feel in the moment, such as getting more energized, less anxious, less intoxicated, or more able to sleep.
This post focuses on explaining what raises risk the most, what boring-but-effective safety looks like, and what to do quickly if a friend is in trouble.
What “Polysubstance Use” Actually Means
If you have ever had drinks at a pre, then smoked, then taken something at the main event, then had more drinks afterward — that is polysubstance use. It does not require anything dramatic. Two substances in one-night counts.
Two patterns are especially common:
Concurrent use: substances used close together in the same window — drinks plus a pill plus a vape, for example.
Sequential use: substances used across the night to change direction — drinks first, then something to feel more energized, then something to come down or sleep.
Risk rises when substances stack effects. Some combinations slow breathing. Some push the heart harder. Some increase dehydration and overheating. Mixing also makes it harder to judge dose, pacing, and how impaired you are.
Why Mixing Happens (and Why It Is Not Chaos)
Students mix substances for reasons that make sense in the moment such as:
Social flow: sharing, matching the group, not wanting to be the only person abstaining.
Experimentation: curiosity and the sense that university is the time to try things.
Coping: stress, anxiety, sleep problems, loneliness, pain, or mental load.
•“Balancing” effects: trying to feel less drunk, more awake, less anxious, or more relaxed by layering something on top.
Unplanned escalation: the night runs longer than expected, someone takes another substance pffered to avoid getting tired.
What Raises Danger Most
Four factors raise risk fastest.
1. Stacking “Downers” (Sedation and Slowed Breathing)
Alcohol, opioids, benzodiazepines, and some sleep medications all depress the central nervous system. When those effects stack, the risk of slowed or stopped breathing goes up. Even if nobody plans to take opioids, public health warn that drugs and counterfeit pills can contain fentanyl or other synthetic opioids (1).
2. Uncertain Dose and Unexpected Potency
A major driver of harm is not “bad decisions” — it is uncertainty. People often do not know the dose in a pill, edible, or powder. Bodies also respond differently when you are tired, stressed, dehydrated, underfed, or taking medications.
3. Using Alone or Getting Separated
If something goes wrong, seconds matter. Using alone or losing track of someone who is more intoxicated than they appear, increases risk. Southeast Public Health explicitly recommends having a plan not to use alone and carrying naloxone even when opioids are not expected (2).
4. Alcohol Plus “Something Else”
Alcohol quietly shows up in most risky combinations because it is normalized, easy to access, and often underestimated. If a night already includes alcohol, adding another substance can change the risk profile quickly.
Harm Reduction That Fits a Kingston Weekend
Here are some clear safer-use strategies that translate directly into real-world choices (3, 2).
Pick One Lane If Possible
If there is one tip to carry into the weekend, it is this: one substance is safer than two. Choosing one lane reduces guesswork and stacking effects (3).
Go Slower Than the Room
“Start low and go slow” is not just a slogan. It is what gives you time to notice changes before they become emergencies (3). If the group pace is fast, you can still choose yours.
Eat, Hydrate, and Pace Alcohol
Food and water do not make mixing safe, but water often slows down the consumption rate and food help slow down how quickly alcohol gets absorbed into the bloodstream which helps during a longer night of partying. Drink water between alcoholic drinks and eat before and while drinking (3).
Stay With Trusted People
Social harm reduction is real harm reduction. Go out with people who will stay if you need help. Decide in advance how the group handles someone who wants to leave early. Designate someone to drive and/or keep at least one person sober enough to problem-solve.
Avoid “Solo Missions”
If someone goes to lie down, goes outside alone, or disappears into a bathroom for a long time, check in. If someone is too intoxicated to answer simple questions, keep them with you and monitor breathing If the Campus Observation Room (COR) is open, it can be a great option if someone needs to be monitored throughout the night.
Carry Naloxone — Even If Opioids Are Not Part of the Plan
Naloxone can reverse opioid poisoning, including poisoning from drugs contaminated with opioids (4). Free naloxone kits are available through pharmacies and through local public health offices, including self-serve kits at reception during office hours (4). If yo’ure not sure whether someone has consumed an opioid but seems to be overdosing, it is safe to give them naloxone while you wait for emergency services to arrive.
If Something Goes Wrong: What to Do, Fast
This is the most important section of this post. If you only remember one thing, remember this: call for emergency help early.
Assume Drug Poisoning, not “Just Someone Who Needs Sleep”
Signs that someone needs urgent help include:
Being unresponsive or very hard to wake
Breathing that is slow (i.e., less than 8 breaths per minute), irregular, or absent
Choking or gurgling sounds
Blue or grey lips and nails
Extreme confusion, collapse, or seizures
If you are unsure, treat it as an emergency and call.
Call 911 and Stay
Calling 911 is the single most important action in a suspected overdose. Health Canada’s guidance on the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act is explicit: call for emergency help and stay at the scene (5). Canada’s Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act is meant to reduce fear of calling for help during an overdose.
It can protect the person calling 911, the person experiencing the overdose, and others at the scene from being charged for simple possession of a controlled substance, and it can also protect against breach of certain conditions related to simple possession (for example, some probation, parole, or pre-trial release conditions).
The law does not protect against more serious offences, such as outstanding warrants or drug trafficking/production, or other crimes not covered by the Act.
The practical takeaway: if someone is in danger, calling is still the right move.
Give Naloxone If Opioids Could Be Involved
If you have naloxone and you suspect an opioid overdose, call 911 and administer naloxone. Health Canada notes that guidance may differ on whether to call first or administer first — in practice either sequence can occur — but emergency help should be contacted right away (5).
Support Breathing Until Help Arrives
Health Canada advises witnesses to call for emergency help, carry naloxone, provide first aid including rescue breathing if necessary, and stay calm and reassure the person that help is on the way (5). If you are not trained in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), focus on calling, staying present, monitoring breathing, and following dispatcher instructions.
Your Next Step
Before your next night out, do one thing: pick up a free naloxone kit from a Kingston pharmacy or from Southeast Public Health (4). You do not need a prescription. You do not need to explain why. Having it does not mean you expect to need it — it means you are prepared if someone does.
If the night that already happened is the one on your mind, that matters too. Support is not only for emergencies. It is also for the “maybe this is becoming a pattern” moment, the “that night scared me” moment, or the “I want to party less but the social pressure is real” moment.
Where Queen’s Students Can Go for Support
Student Wellness Services (Queen’s University): Talk to a healthcare provider and/or mental health therapist if you’re concerned about your own use or want advice on how to help a friend (3). Students can also book a free 1-on-1 professional wellness coaching appointment if they want to cut down and/or quit using alcohol, tobacco and/or cannabis.
AMS Peer Support Centre: Free peer support with drop-in and prebooked in-person and online options and resource referrals (6).
Southeast Public Health: Naloxone access, harm reduction guidance, and local information (2, 4).
If you need immediate support, find urgent, emergency and after hours 24/7 support at Get Help Now.
A “Next Weekend” Checklist
If you are reading this on a Thursday night, carry this into the weekend:
Plan your night like a safety plan, not a moral test.
Stick to one substance if possible.
Start low, go slow.
Eat, hydrate, and pace yourself. Remember, pacing can apply to substances other than alcohol.
Do not use alone, and do not let friends disappear alone.
Keep trusted people close and decide how your group handles someone who needs to leave early.
Carry naloxone, even if opioids are “not part of the plan.”
If someone is unresponsive or breathing is not normal, call 911 immediately.
Polysubstance use among students is often about context and coping, not chaos. The fastest way to reduce harm is to match safety advice to how people actually party and live.
References
Ottawa Public Health. Overdose prevention information (contamination risk and counterfeit pills context).
KFL & A Public Health. Harm Reduction (avoid using more than one substance at a time, carry naloxone, plan not to use alone).
Queen’s Student Wellness Services. Substance Use Health (safer-use strategies: stick to one substance, start low and go slow, do not use alone, carry naloxone, plan to get home safely).
KFL & A Public Health. Naloxone (free naloxone availability, pharmacy access, kits at public health offices; naloxone reverses opioid poisoning including contamination). See also: Government of Ontario, where to get a free naloxone kit.
Government of Canada (Health Canada). About the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act (legal protections and limits; call 911; stay at the scene; rescue breathing guidance).
AMS Peer Support Centre (Queen’s). Peer Support services and contact information.
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