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.