Drugs and Alcohol - Dirty Little Secrets

[Jon Stratis]

Yes, getting in trouble for drug/alcohol use while underage is bad... but using underage is also pretty bad, and can easily lead to even bigger problems. The last thing any of us want to see is one of our students spiral out of control and wind up hurting themselves or others because of drug or alcohol use.

It's important for all of us to look at the schools we work with and understand their policies and procedures for these types of situations. I'm no expert on the law, but I doubt much is going to happen from a legal/police standpoint if you say "I heard so-and-so talking, and I think they were drinking last friday night" - that may depend on exactly what the law is where you live. Rather, I think you could probably take that to officials at the school and use it to leverage the student into getting help. It's a serious enough issue, I think, to warrant a discussion with the school officials so you can fully understand what would happen if you were to report suspected activity.

Personally, I hope I'm never put in that position... I know we foster a relaxed, safe atmosphere at our meetings, and the students are generally very open about things, but I've never heard even a hint of alcohol or drug use with any of my students. But it's a private catholic school, so that may not be too surprising.