Drug abuse is something that has unfortunately become a common aspect of college and school campuses. While students will tell you the reasons why they take specific drugs, the fact is that most of them fail to understand and internalize the short term and long term consequences of what they are doing. The use is so rampant that a study showed that 90 percent claim to have tried alcohol, 50 percent have use marijuana, 17 percent claim to have tried cocaine and 13 percent have used some kind of hallucinogenic drug.
Why Do Students Take Drugs?
There are various reasons why school children resort to taking drugs. While some state that they do so because almost everyone is taking them, there are others that state that drugs help them in managing and handling school related stress. In others who have difficulty amongst those in their peer group, drugs help in overcoming shyness and increasing self esteem, however temporarily (and cyclically). There are also many who take to drugs due to a belief that drugs can enhance their performance by helping them to concentrate better.
How Different Drugs Affect School Performance
Various types of drugs are prevalent at school campuses. And such drug abuse leads to various kinds of issues with regards to school performance whether it is in the area of academics, extracurricular activities or peer group interaction.
Marijuana, for instance causes short term memory loss, distorted perceptions, issues with problem solving and logical thinking and a loss of motor coordination. Not only does this drug cause issues with academics, marijuana drug abuse can cause you to make errors that are likely to cause you embarrassment in front of your peer group too. Athletes also realize that their timing is off and that they are no longer capable of well coordinated movement.
Some serious athletes resort to anabolic androgenic steroids to increase their performance in school sports because of the desire to become the best. But while Methyltestosterone, Oxandrolone or Oxymetholone may increase your muscle mass, they have serious side effects like shrunken testicles, baldness and infertility in men or enlarged clitoris, increased body hair and a deeper voice in women. These can also lead to psychiatric disorders over time.
Stimulants are another commonly abused class of drugs. While these reduce fatigue and increase alertness and aggressiveness in the short term allowing you to give your best in the tournament or prepare for that most important exam, they result in irritability, insomnia, hallucinations, palpitations and convulsions too. It also is arguably unethical to take a drug in order to have an advantage on a test or in a competition.
Among these stimulants, Adderall and other prescriptions drugs that are used to treat ADHD are popular. This kind of drug abuse is very common among high performing students. These drugs are amphetamines that increase focus, enhance logical processing speed and reduce the need for sleep. More than 25 percent of college students are estimated to misuse ADHD medications. Along with the side effects that such drug abuse has, they also make the mind more structured and rigid, leading to a loss of creativity in children. They can also induce anxiety, psychosis and/or sexual dysfunction.
While there are many public awareness drives that are currently ongoing to make schools a drug free place, parents can help a lot by ensuring that they talk to their teens about drug abuse and the dangers associated. A conscious effort not to push the child to perform beyond his means or capability is also necessary. Stocking a home drug test at home can reduce drug abuse to a large extent too, and may be necessary to show your seriousness in dealing with a future or present problem.
– Article by Anne Hamilton
