Problem of Drugs Usage in School Research Paper

Problem of Drugs Usage in School - Research Paper Example For a period of 8-9 months every year, children spend their time at school five days every week, around 6-7 hours daily. School therefore gives children the opportunity to be away from their parents/guardians. It also gives the younger children a time where they can try being like the cooler children more and more. This opportunity to appear cooler, more mature and older in older teens’ eyes makes many pre-teens and teens trying and abusing alcohol and drugs. The children also believe that this is a time when their parents/guardians are not watching over their shoulder what these children are up to. Some time ago being at school was concentrate on education but that focus is many a times being directed to the social atmosphere that a child can acquire while at school. Most children, especially teenagers, do not believe when told that they possess all the qualities that the adults they live with see in them. Most do not accept as true the fact that they possess the skills to be anything in life. They may therefore resort to drugs and alcohol abuse in order to do away with many of the expectations and pressures they believe are there – most teens report having the knowledge of how to use drugs during school hours while others report having the knowledge of where they could obtain them. Rather than using bathroom breaks, hall passes, and lunch time for their name sake, some school children spend this time popping a few pills, taking a few drags or having a few drinks. Considering the fact that high school and college life is among the most stressful of all periods in the life of a person, school children maintain that taking away their capability of blowing off steam is even more harmful compared to the drinking-caused activities. School children get pissed off when someone denies them the right to have fun. It is similar to taking some people's purpose in life away. Thinking that this is the only thing that people do is very sad. However, that is what is important to them and they are ready tight for it (Teendrugabuse.us, 3). Reports from the Partnership for a Drug Free America indicate that according to a national study, 73 percent of teens testify that the major reason as to why they use drugs is to deal with school pressure. This is a vast discrepancy with the only 7 percent of parents holding the view that their children may make use of drugs to cope with stress (Selectown.com, 2). Nyhan notes that although signs announcing drug-free zones ma y ring middle schools and high schools a national report revealed that more school children are coming across booze, blunts, pills and other illegal drugs in their playfields, lockers, classrooms and bathrooms. According to a report by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse of Columbia University, the percentage of children who attend middle schools where drugs are used, sold or stored jumped 63% from the year 2002, and rose 39% at high schools. Put differently, 80% percent of high school children said that they witnessed students who were using, possessing, dealing, drunk, or under illegal drugs’ influence. In actual fact people in the modern society do not care about school laws or rules and drug use among students is pretty much common (1-4). The school environment has become a haven for drug dealers to deal and sell drugs to children,