Drug Programs Devising More Effective Ways to Decrease Substance Use Among Students

Students are no strangers to drug use. To combat this persistent problem, schools have teamed up with organizations to lessen substance abuse among students.

As students reach their freshman year in high school, majority of them have already dabbled in drug or alcohol use, Courier-Journal reported. Charlestown Middle School Principal Karen Wesely has embarked on a collaborative project alongside Our Place, a non-profit organization that provides free drug abuse programs to various schools located in five southern Indiana counties.

How It Works

Our Place's programs will occur during students' health periods at school. Those programs are Footprints of Life and Life Skills, which both adhere to schools' requisite academic standards.

Footprints of Life caters to students beginning on the second grade and will last for six weeks. Eight to 15 weeks of Life Skills will be held for fourth, seventh, ninth and 10th graders, according to Courier-Journal.

Our Place's programs will not just tell students to say no to drugs outright, but it will better help them develop healthy lifestyles. Stress management will be taught, as well as maintaining relationships that can help teenagers manage their emotions better.

MeriBeth Adams Wolf, executive director for Our Place, said the organization's programs are essential for students. However, she also admitted that the programs' effects will take time, specifically three to five years.

Drug Trends Among Teens

Melissa Fry, the IUS Applied Research and Education Center's director, said anti-substance abuse programs tend to be more successful among young children than those who are already in high school. It's because teenagers' thinking is more set in place and are less susceptible to shift or be influenced.

Despite Our Place's early triumphs, the organization found that not all schools are willing to allow substance abuse programs. Administrators in Clark County's three school districts are reportedly hesitant in collaborating with Our Place. Wesely said they are dismayed about why the non-profit has been rejected by schools in spite of the fact that their services are free and it complements health classes.

Substance Abuse Leads To Other Problems

The Journal of Child and Adolescent Substance Abuse published a study in March that indicated how substance abuse fuels other behavioral problems among teenagers. That includes higher risks of unprotected sex, driving while under the influence and refusal to help others.

According to the research, teenagers who abuse alcohol and drugs are poorly aware of their behaviors' repercussions and effects on other people. To fight this, experts said teenagers should help or assist others more in order to go beyond their egocentrism and self-centeredness.