Half of the Nation's Teens Say thier Schools are NOT Drug-Free

A report by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University concerning drug use and availability among teens indicates that half of all teenagers during the 2001-02 academic year attended schools at which drugs were present.

The group's survey of 1,000 students nationwide found that half of all teen-agers said their school was not drug-free, meaning that students keep, use, and/or sell drugs on school grounds. Sixty percent of high school students said there were drugs on campus; thirty percent of middle school students said the same. The random telephone survey of students age 12-17 was conducted between Oct. 20 and Nov. 5, 2000, by QEV Analytics and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent.

Joseph Califano, a former secretary of health, education and welfare, who heads the group, said national efforts to keep schools drug-free have failed, primarily because drug-prevention lessons don't address the common core factors that lead students to experiment with drugs. While anti-drug programs abound, he said, many aren't based on sound science and few are compatible with others. "When parents start to feel as strongly about drugs in schools as they do about asbestos in schools, we'll take a giant step forward," he said.

Many believe that zero-tolerance policies—students caught with drugs are expelled or suspended from school—are a double-edged sword. While they may send a clear no-use message, they can also encourage family members and friends of drug users to keep quiet out of fear the user will receive immediate and severe punishment. Indeed, since 1996, the group's annual survey has consistently shown that only about one-third of 17-year-olds would report a drug user or seller at school.

Califano strongly suggested that more money should be spent on school counselors, teacher training, and treatment for drug-using students, and urged parents to play a more active role in their children's schools.

Source: JoinTogether.org