Last week the Mexican government reported that nearly 50 people were killed in a series of violent events that can only be deemed a consequence of the country’s ongoing problems with its drug cartels.

This devastating news hit particularly hard stateside, as Americans related to the U.S. consulate in Ciudad Juárez were gunned down in an attack that appeared to be related to the drug violence.  Violence in sunny Acapulco, a favorite of American vacationers, further prompted the U.S. State Department to issue a travel warning for Mexico, fearing that the wave of Spring Breakers headed to that country’s beaches might become casualties of the drug war.

Frustratingly, however, in portraying our students as potential victims of this conflict, we seem to have lost sight of their potential complicity, directing little attention towards the party-all-the-time college culture that in no insignificant way has contributed to the very problems Mexico now faces.  The ethical implications of drug use should make Americans, and particularly American college students, think twice about illicit drug consumption. Frankly, Americans’ buying and using of drugs could very well cost someone south of the border his life.

This is not to say that all drug-related violence in Mexico is the fault of college-aged drug users. Clearly, Mexico’s too-easily-corruptible government and fledgling third-world economy, coupled with the world demand for drugs, holds a much larger share of the blame for the violence. But both studies and common sense show that a large proportion of hard drugs consumed in the United States come either from or through our southern neighbor, and that drug use among college students is on the rise.

Sadly, most students have only egocentric reasons as to why drug use might be bad—damage to health, risk of punishment, high cost and risk of addiction are the only deterrents that seem to cross our minds when deciding whether or not to snort, swallow, smoke or take a hit. However, news coming out of Mexico proves that self-damage is only the tip of the ethical iceberg.

Essentially, it comes down to basic economic theory—as long as we provide demand for drugs, there will be a supply. We in the United States are the world’s largest consumers of Mexican heroin, Mexican marijuana, Mexican methamphetamine and Columbian cocaine, which, incidentally, comes through Mexico. And as long as there is a supply of illegal drugs and a government fighting to stop it, there will be human casualties.

Most college students care about human rights and how their actions affect the world around them—just look at the success of the “green” movements, mission trips and third-world-aid programs started and funded by college students. But our generosity and global consciousness cannot simply stop when they become inconvenient.  If we refuse to apply the same world-conscious logic to our substance use and abuse, we will undoubtedly be left with blood on our hands.

Rebecca Quinn is a junior art history, Spanish and French triple major. She can be reached for comment at [email protected].