Drug Money or Lunch Money? The Growing Issue of Drug Dealers in Schools

Weed. Coke. E. It might not be your usual school discussion topic, but it’s there. In the school. There are no real statistics to prove just how often drug dealers infiltrate school grounds, or even wait in the outlying perimeters for their victims, but drugs are very much present in the lives of Canadian teens.

“Most of the people I know have either tried it, or still use it,” says a grade 11 student with an apathetic expression. “It’s easy to get, even around school. [The drug dealers] are persuasive, you know? They make it kind of difficult for you to say no.”

According to a Health Canada report, in 2004, 38 per cent of Canadian teens surveyed - aged 15 to 24 - reported using at least one illegal drug in the past year. In 1994, 23 per cent of teens reported illegally using drugs. Obviously, there has been a steady increase in the use of illegal drugs by teens in recent years.

“It goes on in schools, but I don’t know that I would say it is prevalent,” says J. Percy Page’s resident Peace Officer Constable Ressler, when asked how rife the issue of drug dealers at school is. “Lots of factors have made it more appealing or attractive to sell drugs, including movies and music. The biggest factor, of course is the lure of easy money. High-school students definitely are a captive audience.”

And we are most certainly a captive audience. With the burden of school, homework, peer pressure and many other stress factors, teens can be left vulnerable, and this vulnerability can be easily exploited by those unscrupulous few who are willing to prey upon impressionable teenagers.

When asked if she had ever purchased drugs from a drug dealer on school premises or in the outlaying area, the grade 11 student looks at her feet, falters and then replies, “I don’t really like to say, but, I can say it was pretty close by [school] and if you know where to go, it’s easy to pick up whatever you want.”

Meanwhile, Sroop, a grade 12 student at J. Percy Page feels that some students are more vulnerable than others, just by the way they look. She says, “I’ve never personally been approached by a drug dealer, but I know a lot of people who have been. I guess it just depends on outer appearance; if you look like someone who does drugs, then people will come up to you, if you don’t, then they won't think twice about it.”

It is a sickening reality; the prospect of a student’s lunch money morphing into drug money – but it’s fast becoming a reality in many cases, so what can be done to stop it?

One of the problems, according to Constable Ressler, is that “actually finding the dealers is often difficult, and consequently they are not dealt with directly.” He adds, “Sometimes just speaking with the dealers and letting them know that we know will move them away from the school. If charges can be laid, we do that. Also, just our visible presence can help prevent it.”

Yet is visible presence enough to deter certain individuals? Maybe and maybe not. “When they see a police officer or peace officer around, they get out of there quickly,” the grade 11 student concurs. But she adds, “They want to sell it to you, you know, so they come up with new ways.” Meaning, in the end, adolescents are still able to readily get their hands on a steady supply of illegal narcotics.

Anya, a grade 12 student at J. Percy Page says, “I think that there are too many [drug dealers] and the sad thing is that it’s hard to get to them, but they hold so much power over poor kids who are addicted. I don't really blame them, but it's extremely sad and the drug dealers themselves are too smart to be exposed to whatever it is they're selling so they are basically killers, one of the worst kind. It’s like they’re the puppet masters. They’re in control of people’s lives, pulling their strings...”

Whatever happened to schools being treated with respect, and their grounds being remarkable for their safety and lack of drug dealers? It is evident that even though drug dealers on school grounds are not necessarily prevalent, they are a serious problem. And those vulnerable few who fall subject to their sway are the ones who suffer the greatest, who also feed the growing demand for drugs upon school grounds. In the end, only we students can stop the demand, and cease the drug deals.