By Harsimar Khurana
Schools have a problem that leads to more problems. One of them is students abusing drugs, whether it's on or off campus. Over the years, student drug abuse has led to deaths, GPA drops, mental issues, etc.
This problem can be catastrophic because if this isn’t corrected, then this reflects the school and the community as a whole.
The use of drugs and alcohol by teens isn’t something seen as unique in the United States due to it being so widespread. According to Americanaddictioncenter.org, “High school students in the United States abuse alcohol more than any other drug. By the 12th grade, more than ⅔ of students have tried alcohol,” and “Binge drinking is the most common pattern of alcohol consumption among adolescents, accounting for more than 90% of the alcohol consumed by high school students (updated in 2024).”
Another thing that you can see in school is people using e-cigarettes or vapes. Vapes are not considered a “drug,” but they are addictive to the point they can be regarded as a drug to some. Singlecare.com’s blog by Kristina Lavarone, which was reviewed by Josephine Bawab Pharm.D. states, “It is estimated that more than 2.5 million high and middle students use vaping products.”(2024, and this is only in the United States.)
With all of this in mind, what are the consequences of using drugs and alcohol in school? First is the effect it can have on a student’s grade. Drugfree.org states, “Overall, 31.4 percent of dropouts use illicit drugs, compared with 18.2 percent of older teens enrolled in school. The report found that 27.3 percent of dropouts use marijuana, compared with 15.3 percent of those in school. Among dropouts, 41.6 percent use alcohol, compared with 35.3 percent of their peers still in school.” (2013).
This might seem old, but with the rise of vapes, it should not be taken with a grain of salt. Students are more likely to drop out of school, which can lead them to a path of homelessness or crime.
Secondly, the environment around these types of students can be devastating since if a student drinks a lot, they can commit the act of drunk driving and can be a danger to everyone around them. Teendriversource.research.chop.edu. states, “In 2022, 19% of alcohol-impaired drivers involved in fatal traffic crashes were ages 15-20, and 29% of alcohol-impaired drivers involved in fatal traffic crashes were ages 21-24, the highest percentage compared to other age groups.” Young adults can cause a lot of damage when alcohol is introduced to them.
What can be done about this? A stricter policy for schools or the public to prohibit the use of alcohol and drugs? More zero-tolerance? The answer isn’t apparent. The people in the community and the government can take many options. We can add more security guards, mental health counselors, or social workers. The downside of this would be that more money would come from the school to pay these new workers and whether the resource even has an effect on students who have problems with drugs and alcohol.
This issue isn’t going anywhere, so a likely solution could be to have mandatory checkups on all students, that being one with mental health counselors, to see if any problem can be solved or helped for students. This does mean that schools, or maybe even workplaces, have to put their money into this resource, and with mental health still being a massive issue in the world, it would be a safe bet.
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