"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see."
~Henry David Thoreau

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Drugs???

While viewing the Voices page, I noticed an article on drugs in high schools. Consider these facts from the government:

Marijuana use across the three grades surveyed has shown a consistent decline since the mid-1990s, but appears it to have leveled off. Past-year use was reported by 10.9 percent of 8th-graders, 23.9 percent of 10th-graders, and 32.4 percent of 12th-graders.

In 2008, 15.4 percent of 12th-graders reported using a prescription drug nonmedically within the past year. This category includes amphetamines, sedatives/barbiturates, tranquilizers, and opiates other than heroin. Vicodin continues to be abused at unacceptably high levels. Many of the drugs used by 12th-graders are prescription drugs or, in the case of cough medicine, are available over the counter.

Attitudes toward substance abuse, often seen as harbingers of change in rates of use, were mostly stable. However, among 12th-graders, perceived risk of harm associated with LSD continues to decrease. Additionally, perceived harmfulness and disapproval of marijuana and inhalant use softened among 8th-graders this year.

I wonder if illicit drug use/sales/abuse in high schools are really as bad as they seem from this? One of the local schools is dealing with a drug problem that the police are involved in at this point. At our school, it doesn't seem to be as bad as the facts make it out to be. But what about other schools?

This video is absolutely amazing - made by a 14 year old!

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