Substance use in high schools has changed over the past decade. While traditional cigarette smoking has declined, vaping and marijuana use remain concerns, especially because they are often easier to hide and more socially accepted among teens.
The recovery village states that most teens only do these drugs because of peer pressure or to be perceived as “cool”, some kids also may feel as if it’s an escape from school. Mr. Brody Stewart said, “They only can use it if it’s prescribed which is probably not the case, but they should truly talk to people so they can get help.”
Teachers can begin to see the desperateness in students when they get threatened or feel challenged by authoritative figures. Many staff wish to see students thrive and carry a high standard for themselves so seeing this may make teachers feel obligated to step in or help it anyway they can even if it means taking punishmentive methods. This makes students feel as if nobody understands or listens to them. Brandon stated, “Addiction is a real problem and I hope students understand the grasp it has on them.”
Seth Keck (11), “Students shouldn’t be able to use but it’s legalized so there’s only so much that can be done and it’s easy to get so I don’t know what teachers expect.” This mindset creates the issues that Owatonna High School is facing. While Marijuana may be legalized, this law only allows 21 and above to grow and smoke weed, so the saying; “weed is legal now” doesn’t work for students.
The severity of Nicotine and Marijuana is a lot heavier than students may come to realize, school is a time for learning and bonding between one another.Keeping everyone safe and healthy is a very important aspect of school. As a school, let’s work together to keep accountability and a healthy status for everyone.
