The Effects of Drug Abuse in the Classroom

Drug abuse, whether it's alcohol, methamphetamine, prescription pills, cocaine, opiates or hallucinogens, effects your brain and behavior. Your performance on a social, mental, physical and academic level is influenced. You are not able to control your behavior, think clearly and exercise good judgment when under the influence. Students using drugs are far more likely to have a hard time in school, if they even make it into the classroom.

Neglecting Scholastic Responsibilities.

• According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, students who use drugs and alcohol are more likely to perform poorly in school. Drugs alter the brain function of users. Alcohol abuse, for instance, can lead to memory lapses while marijuana can negatively influence short-term memory and inhibit information form entering long-term memory. Studying done before substance abuse, may be forgotten the next day in class resulting in poor grades. Once drugs become more important to the student than scholastic performance, they may fall behind, fail to complete homework assignments and start skipping class. Ultimately this may result in them being suspended or expelled from school.

Violent Behavior

• Violent behavior in school can be brought on by drug use. According to Theantidrug.com, drug-using teens are twice as likely to engage in violent behavior. Certain prescription drugs such as Ritalin which is used to treat attention deficit disorder, can give a sense of euphoria, but also trigger violent behavior and psychotic episodes. Physical violence toward other students and rebelling against teachers are all symptoms of drug abuse.

Extrovert Or Introvert Behavior

• Students who were once introverted and kept to themselves can suddenly display extroverted behavior and become impulsive and more sociable when they use drugs. Drugs like cocaine, Prozac and alcohol temporarily reduce inhibitions and can bring on this abrupt change in behavior. Some students consider being introverted an obstacle and choose to self-medicate by using drugs. In some instances, drugs have the opposite effect and cause students to become introverted. They withdraw from their friends and become loners.

Physical Performance

• Drugs can effect physical performance during gym class. If you use alcohol or marijuana, you are more likely to lack coordination and have low energy. Anabolic steroids on the other hand can enable a student to excel in physical activities. Students participating on athletic teams might be tempted to use these performance-enhancing drugs. There are many negative side effects to steroid-use including acne, liver abnormalities and tumors, as well as aggression and violent tendencies and hypertension.