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Many of the "good" schools in the affluent suburbs in our area have major drug issues. One suburb of a large city in NW Ohio was having a big problem with heroin a few years ago, and this is one of those places where people move FOR the schools, with many homes in the $500,000+ range. When we relocated to AZ briefly last year and lived in the zip code of the Phoenix area that supposedly has more millionaires per capita than any other zip in AZ our neighbors told us of rampant drug abuse in the "prestigious" high school that our dd would have attended, had she attended public school, and of the deaths of three kids there in the past two years because of drug/alcohol overdoses.
Whenever I ask people for their opinions on why kids who seem to have "everything" would want to destroy their lives this way, the consensus seems to be:
-- Lack of parental involvement. Just giving your child a nice house to live in and enrolling them in a high-achieving "safe" school isn't enough. Kids need their parents. They need their time, they need their attention (and not just when they're on the athletic field or dance recital stage), and they need their authority and loving guidance. So many parents today are so caught up in themselves...their careers, their dating lives, their looks, their possessions. Ask any kid which they would rather have: an overachiever dad with a great sports car and his name in the paper, or a hands-on dad who puts his kids' needs ahead of his own advancement in life.
--Money as a substitute for parental time and attention. In the case of the "good" high school in Ohio where wealthy kids were found to be doing heroin in an astonishing number, when asked, the kids cited the fact that they were left home alone a lot with large amounts of money at their disposal. Money is NOT a babysitter, folks!
--Parents not teaching their kids a firm set of rules of right and wrong. I know that not everyone feels that they need to go to church, and that's your prerogative, but can you at least admit that back when the vast majority of families did go to church weekly things were much, much better in terms of everything: crime, drug use, divorce...I'm not giving credit to religious leaders so much as to the centuries-old Judeo-Christian moral standards that used to be upheld and followed. And while I'm no expert, I believe that true Islam, not that of the terrorist extremists, teaches solid moral principles too. So many kids today seem to be drifting around with no moral anchor, no reason NOT to abuse their bodies and do stupid things, because there is no defined set of rules in their lives. Do whatever feels good...there is no right or wrong, only what is right or wrong for you...blah, blah, blah. That's just crazy.
You may not agree with this synopsis, but most of the people that I talk to, even those who don't prescribe to any organized religion, do.
I feel sorry for a lot of kids today. They've been led to believe that money, possessions, and a free reign to do anything that they want with (supposedly) no consequences is the be all end all of life. So sad. And to get back to your original question: yes, in our area it seems that the suburban kids are more likely to use drugs while the urban kids are more likely to sell them to the suburban kids.
Last edited by canudigit; 01-11-2010 at 06:54 AM..
I really don't think it matters at all where you're from. It's probably more an image thing - that you wouldn't expect kids from a rich suburb to be mixed up in "the crazy world of drugs". Plus they can probably afford a wider variety and "better" drugs.
When it came down to it I grew up in a small city in Iowa, and it was pretty much customary to smoke pot and drink in high school. You certainly didn't stand out if you did, but I never saw this crazy PEER PRESSURE they always talk about. I mean if you don't wanna take a hit from some kids joint I'm pretty sure he's not going to beat you up. Just means more weed for him.
My roommate taught on the West side of Chicago, and the kids there were smoking up and drinking at VERY young ages. By 5th or 6th grade most of them had smoked something and were drinking. She taught 5th grade and unfortunately had kids show up drunk and high to school all the time. Pretty crazy you have 10 year olds slamming whiskey on a school bus at 7am.
Suburban kids drink and do recreational drugs just as rural and city kids do as well. It basically amounts to, can you find it, and are you open to trying it. Who cares how big your house is or the makeup of your neighborhood.
Club drugs, yes....... but definitley not heroin. The junkies and heroin addicts are far, far more common in urban areas.
I personally know a few heroin addicts (north burbs of Chicago, probably close to the OP). I also know a couple of people who over-dosed and died. The neighborhood I live in is one of the wealthiest in the country. In the past 3 weeks there was a meth lab bust and a crack ring run by gang members taken down.
Many of the "good" schools in the affluent suburbs in our area have major drug issues. One suburb of a large city in NW Ohio was having a big problem with heroin a few years ago, and this is one of those places where people move FOR the schools, with many homes in the $500,000+ range. When we relocated to AZ briefly last year and lived in the zip code of the Phoenix area that supposedly has more millionaires per capita than any other zip in AZ our neighbors told us of rampant drug abuse in the "prestigious" high school that our dd would have attended, had she attended public school, and of the deaths of three kids there in the past two years because of drug/alcohol overdoses.
Whenever I ask people for their opinions on why kids who seem to have "everything" would want to destroy their lives this way, the consensus seems to be:
-- Lack of parental involvement. Just giving your child a nice house to live in and enrolling them in a high-achieving "safe" school isn't enough. Kids need their parents. They need their time, they need their attention (and not just when they're on the athletic field or dance recital stage), and they need their authority and loving guidance. So many parents today are so caught up in themselves...their careers, their dating lives, their looks, their possessions. Ask any kid which they would rather have: an overachiever dad with a great sports car and his name in the paper, or a hands-on dad who puts his kids' needs ahead of his own advancement in life.
--Money as a substitute for parental time and attention. In the case of the "good" high school in Ohio where wealthy kids were found to be doing heroin in an astonishing number, when asked, the kids cited the fact that they were left home alone a lot with large amounts of money at their disposal. Money is NOT a babysitter, folks!
--Parents not teaching their kids a firm set of rules of right and wrong. I know that not everyone feels that they need to go to church, and that's your prerogative, but can you at least admit that back when the vast majority of families did go to church weekly things were much, much better in terms of everything: crime, drug use, divorce...I'm not giving credit to religious leaders so much as to the centuries-old Judeo-Christian moral standards that used to be upheld and followed. And while I'm no expert, I believe that true Islam, not that of the terrorist extremists, teaches solid moral principles too. So many kids today seem to be drifting around with no moral anchor, no reason NOT to abuse their bodies and do stupid things, because there is no defined set of rules in their lives. Do whatever feels good...there is no right or wrong, only what is right or wrong for you...blah, blah, blah. That's just crazy.
You may not agree with this synopsis, but most of the people that I talk to, even those who don't prescribe to any organized religion, do.
I feel sorry for a lot of kids today. They've been led to believe that money, possessions, and a free reign to do anything that they want with (supposedly) no consequences is the be all end all of life. So sad. And to get back to your original question: yes, in our area it seems that the suburban kids are more likely to use drugs while the urban kids are more likely to sell them to the suburban kids.
I would like to know your views on teen drug use due to suburban enviornment. I live in an affluent north chicago suburb. alot of parents move to the suburbs when they have kids to be AWAY from crime, drugs, and such. However where I live a very high percentage of kids are into drugs/alchohol abuse. TIME Mag did an article about our school some years back called "High Times at New Trier High" saying that more than 60% of kids used drugs. Now i belive around a third of the kids do drugs (according to my schools statistics). I believe that do to the lack of exiting/cultural activities (in the eyes of most teens )or their distance from the activities (normally in the city) they are more likely to use drugs due to their bordom, their disposable income (in a good number of cases) and in the case of rigorus school districts high stress. What are your opinions. Do you know if there is a higher drug use among city teenagers (both wealthy and poor).
I am not sure of the answer to your question, but as an example, Ridgewood, NJ, an affluent suburb of New York City, often makes national lists as having one of the best high schools in the country, best of this, best of that...however, a few years ago they were also on a list of suburban schools with high drug use. The kids have money, and that's a factor.
I don't know what the studies say, but yes, it's my perception that kids who live in the wealthier suburbs use drugs more than the kids who live in the city. That seemed to be the case while a teen in Minneapolis, anyway; the people I knew from the wealthier suburbs or who attended private schools seemed to drink a lot more and use and have access to far more drugs (and harder drugs) than the people I knew in my city school. I think it comes down to money, plus all the other assorted related factors (like those listed above) and not geographic location; I don't see any reason why it would be any different for the rich city kid at the private school versus the rich suburban kid at the private-like public school.
Not if they play travel (out of state) sports. No time, and no money,
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