Gareth Manning, Gleaner Writer
MOST CHILDREN with a lifetime prevalence of drug use perform poorly in school, according to the 2006 National School Survey by the National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA).
According to the survey, more than 44 per cent of students reported that they have had to repeat a grade because of their drug habits. Close to 40 per cent who use illegal drugs have found it impossible to complete their schooling.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Merrick Watson says while he has not observed that a majority of students with behavioural and disciplinary problems use drugs, there are some who do. DSP Watson has been working closely with several schools through the Safe Schools' Programme.
Similar to the study, he acknowledges that many students use drugs as a means of acceptance, while others do it in a bid to get some attention.
"They just want to be cool," he says.
Disciplinary problems in school
Dennis Kelly, principal of Charlie Smith High School, which operates in one of Kingston's volatile communities, identifies a direct correlation between drug abuse and disciplinary problems in his school.
He says while drugs are not the only source of the problem, many students with disciplinary records have had a history of abusing drugs, particularly marijuana.
"Even though some say it is harmless, many boys lose focus and they lack energy," he comments.
There are students he notes, for example, who are seen as good student role models in the beginning, but later develop behavioural problems as they progress through school.
"A student will come in grade nine and you say that student looks like he would be a good prefect and when he returns in the summer, he is a totally different person," he says.
According to the survey, the drug which had the greatest impact on the students was alcohol. There was a near 55 per cent chance that the students with a lifetime habit of alcohol abuse would not finish school. Marijuana was next in line with a 28.5 per cent chance that students who abused the drug would not finish school.
