Substance Use Support for California College Students: Campus Programs, Your Rights Under AB 602, and Where to Get Help

Covers the University of California, California State University and California Community Colleges · Updated for the July 2026 law change

Until July 2026, a California student who overdosed faced a genuinely awful calculation: ask for help and risk academic probation, loss of housing, or a conduct record — or say nothing and hope. That calculation has now changed, though not as completely as most of the coverage suggested. This page explains exactly what changed, what did not, and which campuses actually have somewhere to send you.

The short version: six of the ten UC campuses run a full collegiate recovery program. The California State University system has no equivalent systemwide program, and told state legislators in 2026 that it was still working out what implementing the new law will cost. Most students at most California campuses will be relying on their student health center’s alcohol and drug counselor. That person exists on nearly every campus, is usually free, and is almost never advertised. Below is where to find yours.

Campus Recovery Program Map

Select a campus to see what it actually offers, who to contact, and whether the program is staffed. Programs are graded by what the institution itself publishes, not by what it says it aspires to. Campuses with a dedicated collegiate recovery program have a physical space and named staff; campuses marked as counseling-only have a licensed alcohol and drug counselor but no recovery community.

AB 602: What the Law Does and Does Not Protect

Assembly Bill 602 was signed in October 2025 and took effect on 1 July 2026. It requires California State University and University of California campuses to offer a student the opportunity to take up rehabilitation services for drug or alcohol use before starting disciplinary proceedings against them after an overdose. It was drafted by students from UC Berkeley, UC Davis and other campuses working with Assemblymember Matt Haney of San Francisco.

The reason it exists is worth knowing. TJ McGee, a UC Berkeley student, overdosed in his dorm room while his roommates hesitated to call for help. He was placed on academic probation afterwards. He testified twice in support of the bill.

Two caveats matter for anyone relying on this law. First, the removal of protection for the person who calls 911 leaves a real gap: state criminal law already shields the caller from arrest for simple possession, but campus conduct policy is a separate system and AB 602 no longer addresses it. Second, implementation is uneven. CSU’s interim assistant vice chancellor for student affairs told CalMatters in early 2026 that the system had no program tied directly to the bill yet and was still assessing what rehabilitation services would cost, including whether students using them might be charged.

If you are facing a conduct process now, ask the student conduct office in writing how your campus is implementing AB 602 and request the rehabilitation option explicitly. Campuses were given until 1 July 2026 to adopt their own implementing rules, so the answer varies by institution.

Getting Help Without It Reaching Your Conduct File

This is the question students ask most, and the honest answer is that it depends which door you walk through. Student health and counseling centers operate under clinical confidentiality rules and their treatment records are handled separately from academic and conduct records. Student conduct offices do not. Resident advisors, campus police and housing staff generally have reporting obligations that a therapist does not.

In practice this means the safest first contact is usually the student health center or counseling service directly, rather than telling an RA or an academic advisor first. If confidentiality is your main concern, ask this exact question at the start of your first appointment: “Who else at the university can see what I tell you, and under what circumstances?” Any competent clinician will answer it plainly, and the answer is binding on them.

Off-campus treatment adds another layer: federal rules governing substance use disorder programs (42 CFR Part 2) restrict disclosure more tightly than general medical privacy law, and your university has no automatic access to those records at all. Our guide on how to pay for rehab covers the practical side of arranging that independently.

When Use Has Become a Problem

Campus drinking and cannabis use are common enough that the line between normal and concerning gets blurry. Two questions cut through most of it: is the substance doing a job that nothing else in your life is doing, and have you tried to cut down and found you could not?

Alongside those, the practical signals are: grades slipping without another explanation, missing classes you used to attend, a social circle that has narrowed to people who use, increasing secrecy about money or whereabouts, and changes in sleep, appetite or hygiene. Prescription stimulant misuse as a study aid deserves a specific mention, because many students do not categorize it as drug use at all.

Fentanyl contamination has changed the risk calculus for everything. It now turns up in counterfeit pills and in stimulants, not only in opioids, which means a student who has never knowingly touched an opioid can still overdose. Free fentanyl test strips are distributed on several California campuses, including UC Davis and through student-run End Overdose chapters at UC Berkeley.

Paying for Treatment as a Student

Campus counseling and alcohol and drug appointments are typically covered by fees you have already paid, so cost should not stop you using them. Where cost becomes real is anything beyond short-term counseling.

• Medi-Cal. Many students qualify on income alone, and eligibility does not depend on immigration status. Medi-Cal covers substance use disorder treatment through county Drug Medi-Cal systems. Your county behavioral health access line is the entry point.
• Student health insurance plans. UC SHIP and CSU equivalents include behavioral health cover. Check whether you can waive out or must stay in before arranging outside care.
• A parent’s plan. You can usually stay on it until 26, but note that claims may generate paperwork visible to the policyholder. Ask the provider about this before you start if that matters to you.
• County programs. Free or sliding-scale treatment is available county by county. The statewide line at 1-800-879-2772 routes you to your local county alcohol and other drugs office.

For a fuller breakdown, see our pages on financial assistance for rehab and licensed treatment centers across California.

Statewide and National Resources

All of the following are free and confidential. None of them report back to your university.

For Faculty, Advisors and RAs

If a student discloses to you, your first sentence carries more weight than anything you do afterwards. A neutral acknowledgement — “thank you for telling me” — keeps the conversation open. Visible shock or disappointment usually closes it, and the student does not try again.

Three things are worth doing before you need them. Know the name and direct number of your campus alcohol and drug counselor, so you can hand over a specific person rather than a department. Know your own reporting obligations, and say them out loud early in the conversation rather than after a student has already disclosed. And know where naloxone is kept in your building.

One correction worth making explicitly with students: many still assume that seeking help after an overdose means facing discipline. Since July 2026 that has changed for UC and CSU students, though the protection is narrower than most students believe. Saying so accurately — that rehabilitation must be offered first, once per term, and that it is not blanket amnesty — is more useful than either the old fear or an overstated reassurance.

Questions Students Actually Ask

Will my parents find out?

Not from campus counseling, if you are over 18 — clinical confidentiality applies. The realistic exception is insurance: if you are on a parent’s plan and use it for outside treatment, claims paperwork may be visible to the policyholder. Ask any outside provider about this before your first appointment.

Do I have to be abstinent to join a collegiate recovery program?

Generally no. California’s UC programs are explicitly harm-reduction friendly and welcome students still using who want to stop, students on medication-assisted treatment, and students who are simply curious. UC Berkeley and UCSB both state this on their own pages.

Can I lose financial aid?

Seeking help does not affect federal aid. Certain drug convictions have historically affected eligibility, but that is a criminal conviction question, not a treatment question. If you are facing charges alongside a campus process, speak to a legal aid clinic — many California campuses have one.

Do I have to take a leave of absence?

Not usually. Most students access outpatient support alongside classes, which is exactly what collegiate recovery programs are designed for. If you do need residential treatment, ask about medical withdrawal rather than a standard leave, since the tuition and re-enrolment consequences differ.

Does AB 602 protect me if I call 911 for a friend?

Not under campus policy. That protection was in earlier drafts and was removed. California criminal law does protect you from arrest for simple possession when you seek medical help in good faith, but your campus conduct code is separate. Call anyway.

Sources and References

• Ta, Alina. “This new California law will offer college students rehab before discipline for overdosing.” CalMatters, 19 March 2026. calmatters.org
• California Assembly Bill 602 (2025–2026 session), Haney. Signed October 2025, effective 1 July 2026.
• California Department of Public Health, State of Public Health Report 2026 — overdose as third leading cause of death, ages 18–24.
• American College Health Association, NCHA-IIIb Spring 2025 Undergraduate Reference Group Executive Summary — 2.3% of students reported being in recovery from alcohol or substance use.
• University of California, Office of the President, student health and well-being — campus recovery program listings. universityofcalifornia.edu
• California Department of Health Care Services, SUD Non-Emergency Treatment Referral Line. dhcs.ca.gov
• EdSource commentary on collegiate recovery program coverage across the UC system, June 2024.
• Campus Opioid Safety Act (2023) — naloxone requirements for CSU and California Community Colleges.

Campus program details were verified individually against each institution’s own published page in August 2026. Programs change; if you find an error, tell us and we will correct it.