It’s now 2025, and, especially here in Oregon, drugs are becoming more and more normalized amongst all age groups. As unfortunate as it is, the youth is one of our primary users, but hardly anyone bothers to look further into why that is. As a typical high school student in the Portland metropolitan area, drug use is everywhere you look: the bathrooms, the parking lot, before and after school, but being one of their peers, you tend to see them in a slightly different light than the next person. With all this considered, let’s dive into the lives of anonymous teachers and students from Forest Grove High School to see what goes on behind closed stalls.
Before anything, I wanted to delve into the minds of the community here in Forest Grove and get their general thoughts on drug use, especially when it comes to their friends or students. I interviewed some staff who gave the following statements when asked their opinions on intoxicants and why they think people use them:
Teacher #1: “I think there’s different reasons why people use. Do I think some [intoxicants] are more acceptable than others? Yes,”
“Some people do it as an escape from reality.”
Hall Monitor #1: “Kids do it to be cool, then become dependent. They want to fit in, but I don’t understand why they always think that they’re the person who won’t get addicted?”
While I agree with the previous statement about addiction due to how normalized drug use has become, I also believe that some of these kids simply don’t care if they become, or are already, addicted. Compared to the student perspective, some of the staff can’t seem to look past the typical propaganda for using drugs. One student, when asked about why they vape on the regular, said:
“It’s the only thing that gives me comfort with school and my home life.”
This is saddening considering that this student is also one of the top in their class. Forcing all different types of kids in the same situation affects them differently, but it also suscepts them to the same risks. Regardless of whether you’re a straight-A student or failing and just trying to get by, everyone is affected by the stress of school in one way or another, and we are forced to find ways to deal with it on our own.
Although schools always claim to be a big support system for students, it seems that students see school officials as their biggest threats. It’s important to take a moment to think about how this person got to where they are and how you can help, instead of incriminating them or making them feel worse than they already do, because chances are, they don’t want to be in this situation either.
However, it’s not always the staff’s choice either. Some policies, such as the mandatory reporting policy, may need to change to be more appealing to the students. As a student, I admire about half of my teachers and despise the other half solely based on how they treat me and react to certain challenges. Of all the staff in the school, I would feel completely comfortable confiding in a handful of my closest teachers and maybe even a hall monitor or two. However, this number is so small because all staff must follow a code of conduct, forcing them to mandatorily report anything they might suspect could be causing harm to a student. This, of course, is a great policy for keeping students safe, but it also acts as a deterrent, forcing kids to bite their tongues out of fear of their secrets being let out. When asked about how they feel about this policy, these are how three students responded:
Student #1: It can be a little annoying sometimes, I just want to vent without having an intervention. Just let me get it out. It becomes another inconvenience, and it doesn’t make me feel better.
Student #2: I think it’s good, yeah. It makes people realize not to joke about that stuff.
Student #3: In some instances, I think it’s appropriate, and sometimes it’s not. I feel like it can make more trouble.
Of course, this policy is in place to keep students as safe as possible, but in less urgent situations, it seems students just need a safe place to cool off. For teachers, having students trust you enough to share their personal lives with you can be one of the most rewarding things as well. Building the relationship between staff and students is key to making a difference in the lives of today’s youth. Simply providing an open ear and some support is sometimes way more efficient than getting more people involved in a student’s business.
Regardless of age and social status, everyone is at risk of getting into drugs these days. Everyone is going through something, and some of us find ways to cope that may not be the healthiest, but it’s important to understand why. Remember to lend an ear when you can, and never jump to conclusions or assume things you don’t know for sure. As for students, talk to someone you trust, and don’t give in.
