Ashland High School in Oregon recognized that there is an ongoing drug and alcohol problem among students in the school, including athletes. Concerned parents and school administrators have come together and formed a panel that will attempt to address this issue, according to a feature on the Mail Tribune.
Superintendent Juli Di Chiro shared: “There’s a drug and alcohol problem in Ashland among our students and the athletes are no different. This is something that we continue to not be successful in making those percentages go down. It’s a real dilemma.” Drug and alcohol use before games by athletes increases their risk for injuries, according to Di Chiro.
The committee is scheduled to meet on Thursdays at 4 in the afternoon, at the new gym auxiliary classroom of Ashland High School; all the meetings are open to the public. They have been tasked to come up with steps that the school can take to discourage the use of alcohol and drugs. Some parents are pushing for the implementation of a new drug and alcohol policy by fall of this year.
At this time, student athletes are asked to sign a form that says that they will not use drugs or alcohol during the season, but Superintendent Di Chiro said that some of these athletes do not take the contract seriously because they think that they will not get caught. Football coach Charlie Hall had asked that the School Board allow him to perform voluntary and random drug tests on a weekly basis. The board, however, voted to table the request 5-0.
Tags: high school drug abuse, school drug abuse, teen drug abuse, teen drug test
