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(NPR) When Pennsylvania Attorney General David Sunday laid out details about an alleged drug ring that funneled kilos of cocaine to students at Penn State University, the case raised specters of the 1980s when coke was a popular party drug among young Americans.
"Cocaine was often packaged at the fraternity houses and the packaging was done by fraternity brothers and oftentimes pledges," Sunday said at a press conference August 17, where he confirmed 14 people had been arrested.
"The actual drug dealing was largely from friend to friend...and at fraternity houses and during parties," he added, describing a large-scale criminal enterprise that operated in 2023 and 2024.
The alleged campus cocaine scheme has drawn national headlines and the investigation is continuing. But while the case is serious, because any amount of cocaine use poses serious health risks, NPR could find no evidence cocaine use is gaining popularity on campuses. Research points to the opposite.