Pot, grass, weed, bud, reefer, joint, ganja, chronic, mary jane, hash, toke, hemp, THC, doobie; all street names for the nations most commonly used illicit drug, marijuana. The use of marijuana is often associated with high school, where most addicts get their first sweet taste of Cannabis.

A drug is addicting if it causes compulsive, uncontrollable craving, seeking, or use, even in the face of negative health and social consequences. Although many say that marijuana isn’t addicting, the truth is that you can get addicted to almost anything. While not everyone who uses marijuana becomes addicted, when a user begins to seek out and take the drug compulsively, that person is said to be dependent or addicted to the drug. Some frequent, heavy users of marijuana develop a tolerance for it. Tolerance means that the user needs larger doses of the drug to get the same desired results that he or she used to get from smaller amounts.

On June 26, 1995, the United States Supreme Court ruled on the case of Vernonia School District vs. Wayne Acton. In the case, the Student Athlete Drug Policy adopted by School District 47J in the town of Vernonia, Ore. authorized random urinalysis drug testing of students who participate in the district's school athletics programs. In the end, the Supreme Court ruled that the drug testing was “reasonable” within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. The results of the testing showed that by the time students in high school are seniors, half of them will have tried and continue to use marijuana.

Along with the use of marijuana by many high school students, drinking has been a growing problem. With students arriving at dances well inebriated, this growing problem is one of the many large obstacles faced by the administration. Many believe that the alcohol problem is stemming from the home, meaning that the kid’s parents are frequent alcohol drinkers and allow their kids to drink with them; or the children are getting their supply of alcohol from their homes. Either way, it is illegal to purchase and drink alcohol under the age of 21 in New York. Whether it is the schools' or parents' problem to deal with, it is certainly not acceptable or legal to arrive at a school function drunk.

One student in Goshen High School, who has admitted to using both drugs and alcohol believes that drug use is a prevalent problem in Goshen High School that does not cause either academic or disciplinary problems. On the other hand, another student who was interviewed disagreed, saying that kids who use drugs “don’t focus enough on school; they just waste away brain cells.” Both agreed that kids do come to school under the influence of either drugs or alcohol, and that is a severe problem. Regarding how to deal with this problem, the student who uses drugs said that the school district should not interfere. “It will cause a bigger problem. Kids will feel that they have to rebel for rights leading to more drug distribution and more problems. Plus as soon as that happens, parents are going to start stepping in, wondering why there is a problem at all. No matter what, parents protect their kids.” The other student, the non-drug user, declared that “a random drug test here and there for both athletes and students wouldn’t hurt,” but it should only be given with the students or parents consent.

While touching upon the subject of drinking, both agreed that going to dances drunk was not proper, and is being dealt with properly by administration. However, they disagreed on whether teen drinking will cause problems in the future. The student who uses drugs and alcohol said how teen drinking could possibly lead to alcoholism,while the non-user said that “alcoholism is hereditary.” It cannot be caused by drinking too much during your youth.

Life at Goshen High School is like any other suburban school. There are some who use drugs and alcohol on a regular basis, and there are others who have not experimented yet and don’t plan to. With so much time and energy being spent on programs such as D.A.R.E and Student Intervention Services, it is hard to say whether it is paying off. But as this year's senior class gets ready to graduate high school, this author hopes that everyone continues doing what makes him feel good, but is also the right decision.