Korey Horton, a 10th grader at Potomac Falls High School, said he would agree there are fewer teenagers using drugs and smoking cigarettes, but alcohol use is prevalent. A number of students are combining drugs and alcohol, he added. “Some people tend to do both, but not my friends.”
Jonathan Harmon, an 11th grader at Park View High School, said his core group of friends are not involved in alcohol or drugs. “Occasionally, I hear some people say, ‘Yesterday I was passed out.’ Someone my age. I think it’s crazy.”
Harmon said he is glad the percentage of drug usage is down. “I don’t see any big benefit to it. It can’t be that good for people.”
Courtney Gallihugh, a senior at Park View High School, said cigarette and drug use is down because of an increase in education about the problems. “I think kids know more about the dangers,” she said. “I think that steers kids away from it.”
She agrees a lot of seniors are drinking alcoholic beverages. “They don’t think it’s as bad as doing drugs,” she said. “If you are going to drink only a couple of beers, it’s not as bad as smoking weed.’
But she is concerned about students who get behind the wheel. “Drinking and driving is horrible.”