When I was younger, let’s say 10-13 years old, my peers and I watched D.A.R.E (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) commercials. The purpose of D.A.R.E is to help prevent kids, teens, and even adults from using drugs, involving with gangs, and engaging in violent/self-destructive behaviors. Ever since I was a little kid, my peers and I swore that we were never going to use drugs because of the effect it can have on us and our families. It is very easy for teenagers to obtain drugs and I believe that we need to try harder to stop it.

I’m a junior in high school, and I’ve had my fair share of witnessing my peers being caught with drugs in school. I’ve seen campus monitors and principals repeatedly searching bathrooms during passing periods. I’ve been in class where, all of a sudden, drug dogs and cops are searching my class. Even though schools are trying their best to stop teenage drug use, it’s not enough. 

In Idaho alone, 7.67 percent of teenagers use drugs and/or drink alcohol. That’s only part of the 46.6 percent of teens that abuse substances nationwide, and studies have shown that one in eight teenagers admit to abusing drugs in the past year.

I’ve even had a personal experience. Someone very close to me was caught using drugs and it changed my perspective of them. They told me that they were struggling mentally and also felt pressured into using drugs. It made me feel guilty. They thought their only solution was to turn to drugs because they felt they didn’t have anything or anyone else.

We can have drug dogs, campus monitors, and principals searching bathrooms and classes but it’s not enough. I think there needs to be drug prevention commercials and assemblies more often than not. Adults and friends check in on their loved ones when they suspect something is wrong. Though we are just high schoolers, the effects of drugs can be life-altering. We should be worrying about upcoming tests and school dances, not witnessing our classes being searched and our peers being arrested.