Drugs in School
School is a place where many kids start experimenting with drugs. The problems
of drugs in school and on the street may not look as bad as many think. But
drugs have become more and more common in recent years, particularly among the
younger students in school. According to the most recent government survey in
1998, 8.3% of the students in senior high schools were interested in drugs and
considered taking them. 62% thought drugs should not be taken at all because
those were (and are) prohibited by law. 20.4% of those asked thought taking
drugs was a matter of individual choice.
In 1995, 17,364 individuals were caught for drug use. This is a 16.65% increase
from the previous year. The number of minors caught for use, possession, selling,
or buying of drugs was 1,083. This is a 30.2% increase from the year before.
The number of senior high school students arrested for drug use doubled from
1994. In 1997, over 20,000 were arrested due to drug related problems. The number
includes 43 junior high school students and 219 senior high school students.
The role that youth drug use plays in school failure, violence, and anti-social/self-destructive
behavior is well known. It is also known that parents strongly influence their
children's decisions about drug use. Parents model substance Abstinence or abuse;
express attitudes about drugs, alcohol, and tobacco; and control their children's
exposure to drugs by monitoring their activities, behavior, and friendships.
Drug prevention education is a natural component of the family resource centers,
common in schools, which provide and coordinate social services. Schools focus
on supporting parents, and on promoting protective factors rather than reducing
risks of drugs in school. The result is parents that are new and willing prevention
partners. Schools are also encouraging students, staff, and parents to recognize
the many positive experiences that families provide. They are expanding the
definition of family to include blended, single-parent, extended, and foster
families. The goal is to encourage family closeness and support which satisfies
the needs of youth that otherwise might drive them to Drug Abuse or addiction.
In fact, the close-knit family systems characteristic of Latino groups has helped
protect their youth from dysfunctional behavior, and they serve as a model for
work with all families.
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