Substance Abuse In Schools

Today’s teenagers are more prone to drug abuse because they see it as a way of rebellion. Author Tiana Rosenberg stated on 2012 that more and more teens are smoking each year because it is considered cool. It’s a form of teenage rebellion, the carelessness and disobeying adults. Teens think they are invincible and overweigh the pleasures of doing drugs over the risks. Part of the brain dealing with making decisions are still developing (Moore

The University of Michigan “annually survey in 2010 ” identified that adolescents nationwide, will start using drugs from 8, 10, and 12-grade use drugs, which include alcohol, Tabaco, marijuana, and other drugs; the survey shows the increased of marijuana use among high school seniors to daily basis. Consumption is the highest in comparison with the previous study nearly 65% of those students use marijuana as their primary drug of choice.

A lot of these high school students get caught up in the wrong crowds which can result in teen pregnancies and even substance abuse. If one was to become pregnant during high school and has no type of family background that is willing to help during the pregnancy then the teen mom is almost forced to quit high school and immediately start working to provide for the child. Substance abuse is another struggle that not only the everyday high school student struggles with, but also the Native American students. According to National Institute on Drug Abuse, “In 2009-2012, 56.2 percent of American Indian 8th graders and 61.4 percent of those in 10th grade had used marijuana.” These drugs do many harmful things to not only the body but to one's brain also. These students become dependent on these substances and eventually the thought of these drugs is all that consumes their minds and school is not a priority anymore. Keith James, department head of the American Indian Studies department at the University of Arizona says, “Substance abuse and household issues become the reason why students stay in school, but it can also be a reason to drop out of school” (Arizona-Sonora News) But, why should school be a priority for them if their school is barely standing or the funds for teachers are not adequate? Another sickening reason why retention

Have you ever wondered how these kids were treated? Many kids from different tribes were living in residential schools even those who can’t get along with other children. They were forced to cut their hair which was humiliating for them, and in order to get food they had to work very hard. In residential schools children were just living in a very difficult condition.

Residential schools were something I was unaware of up until the past year, and I believe the fallout from them is something that should be taken much more seriously than it is. An inconceivable amount of people have been affected by this schools, with depression, suicidal thoughts and substance abuse haunting them even when they found a safer place. The fact that so few people are aware and concerned about this is disheartening and makes me wonder how much other people care about things that don’t affect them. The ignorance borders on racism, seeing as if a child in regular school in the 1960s came and said that they were sexually abused by a teacher the government would have taken care of it within a second. But, they have had over 50 years

Due to this, many has sought comfort in maladaptive behavior as a form of coping, one of which is substance use (Unger, 2001). According to research, marijuana is the most preferable use of drug among high school student, totaling about 32 percent with 12th graders along and hallucinogens is nearly second to marijuana (Kopak, 2014). Hispanic early adolescents are at a risk for substance use, 8th graders are reported at a higher rate for marijuana and alcohol (Schwarts, Zamboanga, Jarvis, Tyne, 2009).

Even though it is illegal if the drug abusers have not been caught they will continue to use the drug and use others. Many adolescences experiment with marijuana due to curiosity and peer pressure studies have shown that the use of marijuana at a young age causes the adolescences to want to try more dangerous narcotics such as cocaine and heroin. An article titled “Evidence That Marijuana Is a Gateway to other Illicit Drug Use” by Joseph Gfoerer, Li-Tzy Wu, and Michael Penne states that, “the highest prevalence of use of heroin, cocaine, and psychotherapeutics in the lifetime was noted among those who initiated marijuana before they were 15 years old. With many young people trying strong narcotics illegally it is no surprise that other young people will also become more apt to try these heavier drugs. The article, “Marijuana is a Dangerous Drug for Teens” by Joseph Calfifano discuses why marijuana is so dangerous for teens and how the gateway effect plays part in this problem. The article states that marijuana use is a “signal of trouble”, the troubles include lack of growth, focus, and motor skills. He also brings up the gateway effect in the article the statistics he uses include, “Twelve to seventeen year olds who smoke marijuana are eighty five times more likely to use cocaine than those who would not.” These statists are very strong in

The use of marijuana can also cause student’s to forget and miss assignments, which is yet another factor that increases a student’s risk for poor academic performance. When a student starts to become dependent, they don't see their drug use as a problem, especially when marijuana is so prevalent among college students. At this stage, students continue use despite negative consequences. Students should be aware of the dependency issues that are associated with marijuana and decrease their use as soon as possible. If drug use continues, academic performance will continue to

Plenty of teenagers in today’s society experiment with marijuana. Many teenagers also believe that marijuana is safer and less effective than alcohol and other hard drugs. But little do they know, marijuana has THC in it which is the main ingredient in it and targets receptors in the brain. Using marijuana at a young age can lead to school difficulties, problems with memory, car accidents, and poor decision making. According to the Central Virginia Marijuana Prevention Task Force, students who smoke marijuana have poorer educational outcomes than nonsmoking students. When teenagers smoke marijuana, it could lead to marijuana use disorders in which a user feels withdrawal symptoms when not taking the drug.

Drugs can result in teens not doing well in school, which can lead to lower academic opportunities and career options.

Before children descend into drug addiction a whole array of signals normally appears, suggesting the family is in trouble. Few people are equipped to recognize these signs (Henican 181). Stresses of everyday living is just too great a burden to bear alone; they feel like they need a protective shell, that invisible physic capsule they can hide inside. Most high school students said that some time in their lives they have used alcohol, drugs, or tobacco. More than seventy one percent of high school students have tried cigarettes, forty two percent have smoked marijuana, twenty seven percent had a cigar, seven percent tried cocaine, and eighty percent had a drink of alcohol (Dryfoos 26).

School-based drug use prevention programs have been an important part of the United State’s anti drug campaign since the late 70’s. Although there have been many different programs of all shapes and sizes, none have been bigger or more iconic than the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program. D.A.R.E. was created in 1983 by the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Unified School District. D.A.R.E. uses specially trained law enforcement officers to teach drug use prevention curriculum in elementary schools, and occasionally, in middle schools and high schools. The original curriculum focused on elements such as resistance, skill training, and self-esteem building, along with additional information on gangs and legal

In addition to the problematic behaviors that arise from teen marijuana use, problems with neglected education also arise from teen marijuana use. Marijuana causes a lack of motivation in teens, causing them to look at school as unimportant, to not care about what happens in their lives, and to lack concern about their futures (Town of Barrington). Teen marijuana use causes teens

According to the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, tobacco use in America starts during youth and young adulthood. 88% of adults who smoke tobacco said that they began smoking or using tobacco products before the age of 18. The use of tobacco products causes many deathly body affects such as lung cancer and heart diseases. Another substance that is popular among youth is the drug called marijuana. In America, over 10% of people ages twelve to seventeen smoke marijuana. Some of these users smoke almost every day. Although marijuana has started to become used for medical purposes, there are still negative side effects for people of such young ages. For example, since marijuana goes directly to the bloodstream it affects brain functions and learning abilities, coordination, as well as judgment. Despite the fact that the amount of youth using drugs is still higher than most Americans want it to be, in earlier decades it was much worse. During the 1980’s over fourteen percent of youth were using just marijuana. Those youth were also using drugs like cocaine, meth, and tobacco products. During the 1980’s, the percentage of youth in prison began to rise. A study was conducted to see how many of these children in jail used drugs before their arrests and from these tests, it was observed that over 56% of them used drugs. The reason for such a high percentage in youth is that drug dealers and drug users began to target schools. Students would be

Among adolescents aged 12 to 17 years, 9.8 % are estimated to be current users of illicit drugs, with 4.9 % using drugs other than marijuana. Nearly three quarters of students have started to drink alcohol and nearly half (47%) have tried using an illicit drug (not including alcohol or tobacco) by the senior year of high school.” (Hassan, Harris, Sherritt, Van Hook, & Brooks, 2009)