Addressing Substance Abuse in Schools: Challenges, Interventions, and Comprehensive Policies - Free Report

Introduction

Drug abuse is among the leading problems affecting students in institutions of learning. The drugs are found to have detrimental effects on the human brain and interfere with the normal brain development of young people. However, drug abuse has become a global challenge in many schools. With an increase in drug and substance rates in schools, several effects have been felt to the students, parents, schools, and the entire society. According to a report published by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (2001), substance abuse is likely to increase the cost of acquiring education by at least 10% (41 billion). The costs will be due to several effects such as high teacher turnover, class disruption, truancy, violence, tutoring, and special education. Besides, the increase in the cost of education may be due to harmful activities such as injury and proper damage. Therefore counselling and other intervention measures may be necessary to help the students overcome the challenge.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

The report further indicates that every year, at least 13 million students aged between 12 and 17 years consume marijuana, alcohol tobacco, or other illegal drug substances. Drug abuse poses serious threats and challenges to the performance of students because it leads to addiction. The moment a student develops an addiction to a drug or drug, he or she might continue abusing the drug for a longer period. Drug abuse among students affects the student, parents, and the institution in various ways. First and foremost, the student's academic performance and health are likely to decline with substance abuse. The parents are affected in that they might need to incur additional expenses of tutoring and counseling for the student. At the same time, the school may suffer high teacher turnover rates, damages to the physical structure and the reputation of the school may be ruined as well (National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, 2001). According to statistics, at least 9.5 million and 5 million students in high school and middle school respectively attend schools where illegal drug abuse persists as a challenge. The students are twice as likely to abuse drugs as the students already abusing illegal substances (National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, 2001). Therefore, drug abuse in schools is a challenge that requires the adoption of a comprehensive plan and strict intervention measures.

Background Information

Starting from the early 1970s, schools in the US applied several approaches in preventing alcohol and drug abuse ion schools. Some of the measures included health education implemented through the dissemination of education on the negative implications of alcohol and drug abuse to the individual and the society as well as the legal consequences of possession and abuse of drugs and illegal substances. Fear-arousal techniques such as dramatizing and vivid portrayals of the effects of drug abuse were used to frighten students of the negative effects of drug abuse (Botvin & Griffin, 2006). However, the traditional measures proved to be ineffective in dealing with the problem of drug abuse. Currently, the state and federal agencies have mandated schools with the provision of health education, which encapsulates the dissemination of drug abuse information. Besides, the federal agencies initiated the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program through the funding received from the US Department of Education. The program was founded to enhance the effectiveness of programs involved in the prevention of drug, alcohol, and tobacco abuse within American schools.

Important Aspects to Consider

Several approaches and stringent measures can be taken to deal with the challenge of substance abuse in secondary and elementary schools. Both the parents and school play significant roles in shaping the characters and behaviors of the students. Therefore, they have a role to play in dealing with the challenge of drug abuse. The parents can train their children and instill in them good morals and behaviors. With the high levels of substance abuse realized in schools, administrators and officials might need to consider revising the current policies and legislations to identify their strong points maximize them, and bridge the gaps as well.

Schools can adopt search procedures through which they can randomly and frequently search students for possession of illegal substances within the school premises. Several policies have been formulated to counter alcohol and drug abuse in the USA. According to research, one of the policies is to increase the price of alcohol through heavy taxation to make the commodity unaffordable to students. With high taxation and alcohol prices, substance abuse is reduced. According to the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine (2009), the excise tax was implemented in at least 42 states in the United States on January 1, 2015, with the excise being at a minimum of $0.50 for every gallon of beer. Besides, the government has implemented universal interventions that involve the setting of minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) and limiting the availability of drug substances to the communities. Several measures have also been put in place to promote emotional and social competence, reduce negative peer influence, reduce stress, and encourage young people to express themselves freely. These measures can be implemented to curb drug abuse and drug dealing in schools.

Comprehensive Policy

Individual students should be assessed for drug abuse effects. In elementary schools and students aged between 0 and 10 years, measures should be put in place to enhance student-parent relationships. Educators must endeavor to build social competencies and communication skills in students through the various stages of growth and development. Moreover, educators play critical roles in providing health education to students to increase their awareness of the dangers and effects of alcohol and drug abuse.

The fundamental objective of the drug abuse policy is to ensure the prevention of drugs and substance abuse among students in the school. The school prohibits substance abuse within the school premises and surroundings. Students must not be found in possession of alcohol and drugs and must not consume drugs with the school at any given time. Serious disciplinary actions or consequences must accompany any violation of the school alcohol and drug abuse policies.

References

Botvin, G. J., & Griffin, K. W. (2006). Drug Abuse Prevention Curricula in Schools. In Handbook of Drug Abuse Prevention (pp. 45-74). Springer, Boston, MA.

Columbia Univ., New York, NY. National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. (2001). Malignant Neglect: Substance abuse and America's schools. National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.

National Research Council and Institute of Medicine (2009), Preventing Mental, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders among Young People: Progress and Possibilities. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, US Dept of Justice, United States of America, Gang Intelligence Strategy Committee, & United States of America. (1996). Creating Safe and Drug-Free Schools: An Action Guide.