Like many other high schools, Woodside High School is facing an epidemic of addiction within the student body. Faculty members do what they can to minimize substance abuse on campus, but outside of school, combating teen drug use falls within the control of parents.
Teenagers today are able to access numerous addictive substances that eventually create present and future problems. Many teenagers start using substances in social settings or for stress relief and self-medication.
¨[My use of] opioids, alcohol, and drugs began as an experiment that eventually leads to an addiction that was a way to escape reality,” an anonymous former drug user at Woodside stated.
This Woodside student is not alone.
“I meet Woodside students that battle with similar addictions every day,” SUHSD health-aid Kristin Coronado stated.
Coronado believes that the teen drug epidemic is a way for teens to escape from a reality in which they face stress and mental health issues.
“Teenagers trying to find a way out or trying to find ways to self-medicate,” Coronado added.
Teenagers often have a hard time finding a trusted adult and communicating what type of help they need, so they turn to self-medication. Coronado helps teens understand that this is a dangerous path to take.
Another anonymous Woodside student who battles drug addiction described their experience becoming reliant on drugs.
“I felt that I had no one to talk to and I was sad all the time, so I tried different drugs in order to make me feel different,” the anonymous student said.
For many teens, the path to self-medication often leads to self-destruction.
¨Since I’ve started it’s extremely difficult for me to go a day without taking at least one Xanax,¨ the anonymous student added.
