I’m sure you’ve heard of epidemics such as the Influenza virus, and a bit more recently, the Covid-19 outbreak. However, it may have never crossed your mind that an even bigger epidemic lies just beneath the surface of our society, and quite possibly our schools. While most epidemics seem to eventually lead to a cure, one in particular sticks out as a never-ending crisis; drugs. Sure, we’ve all heard it, “Drugs are bad, drugs will kill you.”, but we never truly understand the purpose of calling it an epidemic, rather than just a simple issue.
On a grand scale, drugs killed 109,000 people in 2022, that’s more than suicide and car crashes combined. We can all remember pledging in elementary school that we wouldn’t ever do drugs, but when you take a look around you, maybe at your classmate sticking their mouth in their sleeve for a second, or the girl who just walked out of the bathroom stall coughing and rubbing her eyes, clearly any pledge we made fell through.
You have to wonder why we ended up this way, stuck reliant on some substance that is proven to destroy our still-developing brain cells. The big question is, “What made humanity fail to protect itself?” It sounds like it should be common-sense really, saying, “No.” to drugs. The deeper meaning lies between the realms of societal norms, and well, being a kid. On one hand, you have an entire school culture feeding into this idea that, “Drugs are cool.”, and on the other hand, you have the inability of a growing mind to fully make a sound lifestyle choice.
Since when did destroying your body, before it’s even done growing, become a trend? Drug use isn’t new, children have always been subjected to influence by their peers, it’s just simply nature. But what kids fail to recognize is that there is a life out there waiting for you beyond high school. Are the drugs going to take you to college? To a job? To a trade? Or is your ambition, your determination, or your hard work going to prove worth it and take you where you desire to be in life.
I am deeply saddened by the culture and norms I see in my school; the drugs that destroy any possibility of prosperity in life. So I challenge any student reading; are you going to let a substance take control of your life, or are you?
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