At the time of writing it is 15 minutes after Warhawk Time has ended. How many times were drugs or alcohol mentioned during Warhawk Time? Whether you overheard the conversations, a friend told a story or a simple joke, they were probably mentioned. Hearing that for the first time as a freshman might’ve been a shock, but you’re used to it now. As a high school student you’ve learned to accept that drugs are a part of life. If almost every student accepts this reality, then why doesn’t Fairfax County Public Schools’ (FCPS) substance curriculum reflect that?
Following multiple fentanyl-related overdoses at FCPS high schools, the panic was tactile; you could pinch the air and have visible droplets of FCPS admin’s perspiration. Advisories and Warkhawk Times were set aside for a showing on the projector for a series of youth substance abuse videos. These videos are not unfamiliar to Madison students, or FCPS students for that matter. Many students have been shown clips of these videos or have seen the print version of these videos’ graphics.
Whether it be clips or graphics, FCPS’ drug education curriculum is completely outdated. While FCPS does have a focus on preventing and discouraging the use of hard drugs such as methamphetamine, cocaine and opioids, these materials all too often attempt to strike fear into students surrounding the use of more commonly used drugs ‒ particularly marijuana and alcohol. Fearmongering and abstinence only education are notably both very ineffective in another county and country wide curriculum: Family Life Education. Most states that teach abstinence only in their sex education also have some of the highest teen birth rates. This is notably shown through the five states with the highest rates of teen pregnancy, which are Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Alabama, according to World Population Review. One common factor between these states: they all heavily stress abstinence-only sex education. This same mistake cannot be made with drug education, especially during a time where misinformation and rumors about fentanyl are constantly spreading. Instead, the materials are all too similar to the famously ineffective “Just Say No” campaign of former First Lady Nancy Reagan during the similarly ineffective War on Drugs in the 1980s.
Teaching students anti-alcohol or marijuana propaganda is beneficial for neither students or schools. Whether FCPS would like to acknowledge it or not, like sex, alcohol and marijuana already are or will eventually be parts of many students’ lives. Rather than attempting to terrify students into completely abstaining from mild and safer drug use, FCPS should redesign their curriculum and implement one which discourages the use of marijuana and alcohol, yet provides accurate information regarding safe avenues to help prevent students from consuming dangerously sourced drugs. Teaching and attempting to strike fear into students is ineffective and unhelpful when broaching the topic of drugs. The best way to avoid drug abuse and overdoses is to teach students to respect themselves, know their limits, and how to avoid dangerous drugs, not scaring them into making uniformed and unsafe choices.
