Drugs & Alcohol

1. Drugs & Alcohol BY: Hallie Reardon, Heather Charron, Jennie Flannery & Madeline Kelly

2. Students everywhere experiment with illegal drugs and alcohol before they are 21. • But which drugs including alcohol are most commonly used in our society? • How does the media influence high school aged students to use more and more? Madeline KellyILLICIT DRUGS, ALCOHOL, AND THE MEDIA

3. Is it celebrities that influence us the most? • Is it shows, movies, or magazines? • What is the appeal to teens? • Which drugs are most commonly used? Common Questions:

4. 3/4 of students have consumed alcohol before high school graduation • More than 1/3 have before 8th grade • About 62% of high school seniors admit to being drunk before • 50% of 10th graders admitted being drunk also • Advertisements often show funny, sexual images, and glamorous scenes to attract teens • Magazines have 48% more adds for beer, hard liquor, and mixed drinks than TV does ALCOHOL

5. 20 percent of 8th graders report that they have tried marijuana • 85.5% of teens said they could obtain marijuana easily MARIJUANA

6. Illicit drug use among teens ages 12-17 is at 10% in 2009 and continues to climb • Drugs are advertised in our society as normal and needed • This gives teens the false idea that taking legal drugs is a norm • drugs can help us with problems that are not easy to fix on our own PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

7. Hallie Reardon • Academic Achievement and Adolescent Drug Use • Did a study to see effects between academic achievement and drug use in high school • They used 103 males and 98 female students in 3 schools. They were surveyed 4 times in 3 years. • Results were that students who showed grades dropping showed drug use during the same time frame. Students who exceled in school showed a less rate of drug use. • Conclusion was that drug use and school performance were related to each other HOW DRUGS AFFECT HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

8. Academic Performance and Substance Abuse • Studies show that low academic achievers are most likely to smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, use marijuana and other drugs. • Study with 34-45 schools. 1488 from the 1672 sampled students did a 87 question survey. Low academic performance which would be C’s or below were males, non hispanic blacks, frequent smoking and marijuana use.

9. NY Times • 40% of hs students have tried marijuana • students who are in extracurricular activities are less likely • findings based on 4097 Connecticut students. 1906 boys 2191 girls • most likely users were 11 & 12 graders who had b-c or lower grade range. • Students with jobs more likely to use than w out • Concerning because students brains are still developing.

10. First use of alcohol typically begins around age 13. By their senior year, 64 percent of high school students say they have been drunk at least once; 33 percent say they have been drunk in the past month. Heather CharronLAWS AND REGULATIONS

11. As of 1988, all states forbid the purchase of alcohol under the age of 21. • All public places that serve alcohol are required to card. • “Current alcohol use among high school students remained steady from 1991 to 1999 and then decreased from 50% in 1999 to 42% in 2009.” • “In 2009, 24% of high school students reported episodic heavy or binge drinking.” Laws

12. All 50 states and the District of Columbia have per se laws defining it as a crime to drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at or above a proscribed level, usually 0.08 percent. • Forty-three states permit some offenders to drive only if their vehicles have been equipped with ignition interlocks. These devices analyze a driver's breath and disable the ignition if the driver has been drinking. • In 29 states, multiple offenders may forfeit vehicles that are driven while impaired by alcohol. • Forty-two states and Washington D.C. have laws prohibiting the driver, passengers or both from possessing an open container of alcohol in the passenger compartment of a vehicle. DUI/DWI LAWS as of March 2004

13. “Zero tolerance” laws in all states make it illegal for people under the age of 21 to drive with any assessable amount of alcohol in their system (With a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) ≥0.02 g/dL). • “In 2009, 10% of high school students reported driving a car or other vehicle during the past 30 days when they had been drinking alcohol.” • “28% of students reported riding in a car or other vehicle during the past 30 days driven by someone who had been drinking alcohol.” Drinking and Driving

14. In June 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court gave authority to public schools to test students for illegal drugs. • Currently, random drug testing can only be directed among students who participate in extracurricular activities. • Reasonable suspicion/cause testing involves a school requiring a student to provide a urine specimen when there is sufficient evidence to suggest that the student may have used an illicit substance. • “This involves the direct observations made by school officials that a student has used or possesses illicit substances, exhibits physical symptoms of being under the influence, and has patterns of abnormal or erratic behavior.” Drug Testing

15. 90% of schools include drug and alcohol use prevention in their health curriculum • but only a small portion of the health teachers are qualified in this area and nearly none of them have received training. • The lack of qualification makes it very difficult to prevent drug and alcohol usage Jennie FlanneryDRUG AND ALCOHOL PREVENTION

16. Some schools have used teleconferencing as a way to have specialized drug and alcohol prevention instructors without them actually being present in school (distance education) • Instructors could address multiple schools at once and health teachers acted as in class facilitators, the more involved the facilitators were the more the students got out of the program and the more effective the program proved to be.

17. Currently drug education strategies have a low effectiveness ranking • Drug specialists stress the importance of drug education before drug prevention • It is crucial to educate high school students on drugs, alcohol, and the effects of both before resorting the prevention programs and punishments

18. Since drug education in high schools has not been proved to be effective schools are going to start: • Random drug testing of students • Random drug testing has worked in some high schools already, for example, a United States high school tried this method and over the course of a month overall drug use decreased from 43% to 39%. The results for this method have been positive. • Breathalizing students at school events • Searching students at random times • School exclusion from activities • School expulsion

19. Drug abuse is becoming more and more common among teenagers in the United States and the sad truth is that only a small portion of the money that Washington D.C. puts aside for Substance Abuse and Prevention is actually used to help teenage drug abusers • To really be able to prevent drug use in high schools we must first try to understand why students are using drugs • Teenagers resort to drugs because of: • The need to fit in, experimentation • stress related issues • family problems • loneliness • insecurity (drugs make them feel better about themselves) • depression

20. Some high schools have decided that the way to handle drug and alcohol use among their students is to make their school a better place and offer students the help they need before they resort to drugs. • Also, encouraging students to look for help and not be afraid to ask for help if they need it