Drug Addiction On School Campuses: What Are Students Doing With Their Free Time?

 

Drug addiction affects every part of society, and this also is true when it comes to school campuses at almost all grade levels. From elementary schools up through college levels, school campuses have become a common place for drug use and transactions, with students right in the middle. Drug addiction at the school level covers a surprising variety of substances, from marijuana and cocaine to many of the club drugs like ecstasy. When we send students to school to learn it is not expected that what they learn is how to develop a drug addiction.

 

The level of drug addiction at the elementary school level is fairly small, but this is changing in some big cities and larger areas. Children as young as 7 or 8 years old have been diagnosed and treated for drug addiction, and this includes alcohol. At the middle school level this is a bigger issue, and around 30% of middle school students said they either did drugs at school or knew someone who did within the last 3 months. High school and college level drug addiction is common, with roughly 85% of these students admitting to drug use at some point in the last year, and 55% reporting this activity at school.

 

One of the biggest reasons that drug addiction is so common on school campuses is peer pressure. At this point in life many kids and young adults want to fit in or be one of the group, and they try drugs believing they are harmless and that everyone is doing it. Before long this has turned into a drug addiction, and the individual does not know what to do or where to turn. Many schools have resource officers who look for signs of drug use or possession at school, and often local police are called in because drugs have been discovered on campus.

 

On some campuses the rate of drug addiction is high, and all schools are affected by substance abuse. Drug and alcohol use and abuse are a big problem among these age groups, one that is often occurring right at school. School bathrooms have become common areas for substance abuse, with students visiting frequently to hide in the stalls and get their high on. Students with a drug addiction problem may be expelled if they bring drugs on campus, and face criminal charges as well. Unfortunately drug on campus is a much bigger issue than many people realize, and these institutions of learning are also breeding grounds for substance abuse.