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Substance abuse has created many challenges to educational institutions, employers, parents and society on the whole. It is generally attributed to the factors like unhealthy family relationships, parental substance abuse, peer pressure, etc. These factors pose a great threat to the student community, which has got higher chances of falling prey to these risk factors.

Significance of drug-free environment in schools and colleges:
Educational institutions are places of great importance for a civilized society. Educational institutions are intended to serve the purpose of educating and training the future generations to make them successful in any vocation. Healthy interpersonal relation among the students, peer groups, teachers and non-teaching staff would ensure development of balanced social behavior among students. All this would contribute to the growth of students with great productivity and noble attributes.

Whereas, intrusion of any harmful habit such as substance abuse in an educational institution, spreads like a contagion, unless prompt and adequate measures are taken. This habit spoils the whole healthy environment in the schools and also affecting the well-being of the students.

Role of teaching and non-teaching staff:
Today every thoughtful parent is apprehensive of the growing drug abusing habit among the youth, especially, the teens in schools and colleges. The inherent danger is, once they get used to drugs, it becomes pretty hard to reverse the behavior. In this context, the academic authorities at schools and colleges should take preventive measures. They should consider safety of the students (from substance abuse) as their top priority. They should organize curricular and extracurricular activities among students to keep the potential addiction at bay.

As a school/college environment encompasses activities within academic and beyond, there is great feasibility to harness the personality skills of the teens. Also, maintaining cordial relation among the students and teaching and non-teaching staff is important. It would lead to better learning and safe environment for the students.

Role of students:
Different reasons, such as senseless competition for academic scores or an unduly zest to experiment with new things may provoke the students to take drugs.

Further, there might be groups of teens who induce the non-abusers to get into the drug trap. They may persuade the non-abusers to test the high from such a substance. If the latter do no fall in line, they are socially deserted, poked fun of. When isolated from the competitive groups, the youth thus gets provoked to use illegal substance so as to be able to mingle with others. Thus, quality of the friends is important to induce or dissuade him/her to use drugs.

Role of parents:
Parents play lead role in preventing their teens from abusing drugs. They should develop healthy relationship with their teens. Parents should know the current tendency among teens. They should have candid discussions on the issues confronting the teens’ academic or otherwise and endeavor to find an amiable solution to the same. Else, the teens might feel alone, frustrated and may make recourse to use illegal substances.

Above all, parents should be a role model of non-abusing healthy and pleasant adults. As the teen stays mostly with parents, after school/college hours, he/she is more likely to be influenced by the conduct of the parents.

Drug tests at homes, schools and colleges:
As things stand now, mandatory testing for substance abuse has turned out to be a norm. Schools and colleges should enforce rules to promote a drug-free environment. Academic authorities should conduct, random and regular testing for illegal substances using drug test kits. Such testing would act as a deterrent to potential drug users.

Even parents should examine the routine behavior of their teens. If it were indeed the case of a suspected drug use, they should consider their teens for drug testing. Parents should urge teens to test for drugs at home. Home drug testing can be administered without the aid of professional help. They give instant results. Further, these tests can be administered without infringing the privacy of the youth.

As it is well-known, the most vulnerable group for drug abuse is the teens. They should therefore, be protected by ensuring a drug-free environment at schools, colleges and at home.

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