One’s teenage years, while full of exciting and fun, can also be the beginning of an everlasting addiction. Even though it’s always been a problem for teens, it seems like drug use has been increasing in popularity to the point where it’s normal to go into the bathroom and notice that people are vaping.

Although there will be teens that still do drugs, what is an appropriate way of preventing this behavior?

It is the agreement of The Mentor editorial board that the safest and most appropriate way to prevent the use of drugs by the adolescence of Manhattan High is to increase security and shift the conversation surrounding drug use from being addict-based to a more open dialogue that includes those who are casual users.

MHS has roughly 1800 students and it’s a given fact that not everyone has the same rate of usage when it comes to prescription medication. Whether it’s using pills for a migraine or because the medicine equalizes your emotions, everyone will have a different usage. Unfortunately, one of those uses may be to use prescription medication as a way to feel some kind of euphoric effect. It’s hard to be able to treat these kind of cases though because these medicines were made to help people who truly need it. Some schools have an organized way of have prescription medicines actually used for help held in a designated spot, but when you have 1800 kids in a school it tends to become unorganized and messy.

After our recent referendum passing, one of the promises was to increase the amount of security at MHS, which is extremely important. The reason behind it is more towards physical safety such as shootings, but there could be a way for it to be geared toward general safety. In addition, if there was an appropriate solution for those getting caught abusing drugs, other than suspension or jail time, maybe some teens would stop.

Nowadays with technology and there being more types of ways to get that euphoric feeling, such as the infamous JUUL, it’s easier to hide. With it being easier to hide, most teens have the mindset that they will not get caught and will continue to do it.

One thing to notice is that addicts don’t always realize that they’re addicts. It’s unfortunate because in order for people to get help there has to be some part in that person where they realize that they are hurting themselves, whether it’s mentally or physically. When being told by someone else that the decisions being made are not safe and unhealthy, people may get defensive about it. Their mindset is that it’s not a big deal and they consequently continue to harm themselves. MHS as a whole tends to focus more on addicts than casual users, which must be changed. The culture at MHS should additionally focus on those who use drugs socially.

In conclusion, there needs to be more security in a way where it focuses on drugs. People need to understand that some teens don’t consider themselves as addicts and will not care about whatever is being said about drugs. Again, not everyone is the same and it will never be like that.