Does it surprise you that the rate of drug use and abuse is higher among high school drop-outs than those who matriculate? Of course it doesn’t. Why? Because drug use certainly inhibits the long-term chances of success.
The link between poor academic performance and substance abuse just got stronger, with a new U.S. government report showing ties between the two. As reported in medicalxpress.com.
This is a no brainer, really. The report showed that high school seniors who dropped out of school before graduating were more likely to drink, smoke cigarettes and use marijuana and other illegal drugs. No duh!
Why are we even studying that? It is kind of a joke that he researchers said their findings should prompt communities to develop strategies to keep teens in school and prevent problems with substance abuse.
Aren’t communities already trying to develop strategies to keep teens in school and prevent substance abuse? What a colossal waste of time and money.
The only part of interest, though I still believe this to be a waste of time, energy and money, were the statistics.
With respect to smoking and drugs (using high school seniors) the study revealed that those who dropped out of school were more than twice as likely to be smokers, or have smoked in the past month, than students who stayed in school, while more than 31 percent of seniors who didn't receive their diploma used drugs, compared with about 18 percent of students who had finished high school.
Almost 30% of dropouts smoked marijuana and 10% abuse prescription drugs.
It is no surprise that dropouts were also more likely to drink—the study showed that nearly 42 percent of seniors who didn't finish high school drank and about a third engaged in binge drinking, by comparison about 35 percent of those students who stayed in school drank and only about one-quarter said they binged on alcohol.
I still believe that we should mandate alcohol classes and drug classes each year for all students. The combination of education and graduation will lead to a better America.