Most U.S. teens don’t take drugs. In a 2013 survey conducted by the National Institute for Drug Abuse, 13% of eighth graders, 30% of tenth graders, and 40% of twelfth graders said they had used a drug in the past year. While drug use is not overwhelmingly prevalent among teens, for those who do possess an addiction, the stigma surrounding addiction poses a significant  barrier to treatment. 

Senior Lauren Gilman, who did an independent study with Dr. Kelly Tracy on the science and stigma of addiction and subsequently designed a mini-course based on her independent study, thinks that drug use at such a young age is driven by a confluence of factors, ranging from the urge to escape anxiety to social pressure. She explains a phenomenon called the immortality complex: “even though young people know something is dangerous, they believe that nothing bad can really happen to them. Because our prefrontal cortex is not fully developed as adolescents, we do not have the tools to maturely assess and decide against partaking in certain risky behaviors that are harmful.” 

The ramifications of substance abuse, of course, are serious. People who consume alcohol in their teenage years have a much higher chance of developing an addiction later on in life. The nicotine in vapes narrows and hardens the arteries, increasing the likelihood of a heart attack. Alcohol slows and blocks chemical signals among neurons in the brain, which can impair memory and reduce overall cognitive and motor function.

While many teens perceive substance use as a way to fit in, addiction itself is highly stigmatized. Gilman thinks that whenever someone finds out that a student has an addiction, “they think of it as the primary identifier of who they are as a human being… they are no longer seen as a student, friend, or writer, but rather [as] an addict. People see addiction as a flaw in character.” 

Junior Lawrence Ohmes agrees: “It’s easy to slap a label on people who take drugs, and make that define who they are. Taking drugs is automatically associated with being a bad person, whatever that means.” While drug use is often stigmatized, the Head of the Health Department Ms. Christina Young notes that many people willingly take drugs “to fit in the social scene… it’s easy to feel like everyone vapes and everyone smokes. And that’s not true.” As much as drug use is normalized as a way to fit in, Ms. Young urges upper schoolers to realize that you don’t need to take drugs to have friends. There are plenty of other ways to solve problems that you think can be fixed by drugs. And, Gilman says, if you want to find a successful alternative to de-stress, you can do tons of other activities, like exercising or meditating. 

To clear up many of the myths and stigmas surrounding drugs, Gilman strongly recommends educating yourself on the science of addiction. “There’s a lack of knowledge surrounding substance use. First, the fact that addiction is a disease, and second, how to safely drink if you are going to at all,” Gilman says, “so education is crucial in these respects.” 

Ms. Young agrees: “We want students to understand what different drugs do…We want to arm them with essential information about what they’re considering…We hope that students delay substance use… but that’s different than just saying no. We’re saying there’s a lot of compelling reasons to wait until you’re older, and we also understand that there’s a lot of reasons why students may want to try substances. We’re invested in your health and well-being.” The belief that drugs are the only way to fit in with teenage society needs to go away. It seems that there’s a fine line between perceived coolness and addiction. At low, inconsistent levels, drugs seem cool and relatively harmless, a dangerous assumption which often tempts teens to experiment with drugs. But when consumed in excess, drugs become stigmatized, and their users become seen as “addicts” and “immoral.” Perhaps it’s time to confront this baffling paradigm, reduce the stigmatization of drug addiction, and focus on ways to clear up the facts on drugs.