Your school's drug and alcohol policy?

[lucifer11287]

HS drug/alcohol policies are ludicrous. At my school, for instance, you get in more trouble for being drunk at a dance (on a Saturday night) than you do for fighting during school or cheating. Aside from the fact that drinking isn't a big deal (it SHOULD NOT be suspendable in and of itself, in my opinion; just being drunk isnt' a bad thing if no other rules are being broken) and that 18 year olds deserve the right to drink (tobacco is FAR more harmful than drinking even accounting for alcohol-related car crashes, etc...)

For public schools, off-school drinking (off school meaning not at school or school activities) can only result in suspensions from a team or activity - the school cannot suspend students from actual school or punish them in any way for actions at non-school related activities, with a few exceptions for violent crimes and other felonies. Some public schools may violate this concept (I've heard of it), but their policies wouldn't stand up in court if challenged. Private schools, obviously, are a different story.

I personally was victimized for my drinking at a dance. Other kids who got caught cheating walked with minimal penatly and didn't have to explain to colleges why they got in trouble - which I did. I thoroughly believe that simply being drunk when at a nonschool/noncompetitive activity is NOT wrong and is NOT a big deal. Especially for high school seniors, many of whom are 18 or older, drinking should not be a suspendable offense when it does not occur at school or at a competitive event (I can see why school's are concerned with kids being drunk while trying to learn or representing the school on an athletic/academic team, etc..., but there is no reason for the school to care if kids are drunk at a dance or school-sponsored party beyond making sure they are OK (i.e. not ridiculously and overly drunk) and not driving).

Wyogal, just because something is in someone's best interest does not mean that those with power should or have to use it to make someone do it. By that logic, the government should run everyone's life and make sure they live an optimally healthy life - a fundamentally un-American idea that lacks a respect for individual liberty.

I'll conclude by saying that the disciplinary process at most schools is a joke. At my school, which is, as I've heard, fairly in line with other schools, the administrators did not need to prove anything to any standard - they just had to say that they "thought" I was drinking and I had essentially no recourse. At my appeal, one of the primary concerns of the superintendent (who I appealed to) was ensuring that the principle's ability to intimidate other student's into following rules was not compromised by my successful appeal - imagine the injustices that would result if that were the case in real courts.

Also, drinking, possessing alcohol, being under the influence of drugs and possessing drugs should not be grouped togather as a blanket offense (as they often are) - there is a big difference between going to a dance drunk and going to school with a kilo of coke.