Since the 1950s, substance abuse in the American population has been on the rise. In the 1950s, many Americans began to seek chemical solutions to feelings of stress and anxiety and turned toward tranquilizers as the answer to an increasingly complex world. Many children growing up during this time saw their parents opt for a drug solution to life's problems, and in the 1960s many turned toward marihuana, LSD, and various other concoctions which provided a momentary release from reality. As the drug culture grew and blossomed, it became clear that the problem was inching its way into the American school system itself.
In fact, studies have shown that to many, "if you were really down on what older people had done to the planet, [drugs] could elevate your mood. The main idea was to experience something; usually something other than the hopeless world created by those over thirty."1
During the past few years, however, the problem of increased drug and alcohol abuse within the school age population has dramatically increased. Even though child and teenage substance abuse is an individual behavior, one must also remember that the behavior itself may very well be indicative of a deeper socio cultural context that tends to determine these actions.2 In that context, it is necessary to look at an overview of the literature on the subject, analyze the specifics of alcohol abuse in the schools, turn to similar questions regarding drug abuse, look at the variety of solutions proposed by professionals, and conclude with the legacy of substance abuse, and the likely consequences it may have on society itself.
There is ample evidence from the literature in both educational and medical/psychological fields, that substance abuse among adolescents has become an important question. Even a cursory survey of the major indices and databases results in literally hundreds of citations. In the educational field, most of the recent lay literat...