Drug Epidemic at Manalapan HS in Manalapan, NJ
In most high schools, drugs are a common rite of passage. As a matter of fact, the problem is so serious that it has reached epidemic levels. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse - NIH (2014), 22.1%, 16.3%, and 22.7% of high school students (seniors) in 2013 admitted to binge drinking, cigarette smoking and marijuana smoking, respectively.
Prescription drugs are also being abused at an alarming rate. For instance, "in 2013, 15.0% of high school seniors used a prescription drug non-medically…" (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2014). One of the prescription drugs most abused, as the National Institute on Drug Abuse (2014) further points out, was Adderall. The said prescription drug is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Other commonly abused prescription drugs are products with dextromethorphan as a component and Vicodin.
In a study conducted by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse "about 17% percent of American high school students are drinking, smoking or using drugs during the school day" (Kuczynski-Brown, 2012). Manalapan High School, which forms the basis of this discussion, is one of the affected institutions.
The Institution: In Brief
Established in 1971, Manalapan High School is one of Manalapan Township's public high schools. Essentially, the institution serves learners from the entire Englishtown.
The General Characteristics of the Population
From grade 9 through to 12, the school has a total student population of 2,079. In terms of individual grades, the student population for grades 9, 10, 11, and 12 is 502, 503, 525, and 549 students respectively. With regard to gender, male students make up a total of 53% of the student body, and female students 47%.
The Sub-Group
Although the entire population could be classified as being at risk, the sub-group of interest for purposes of this discussion will be students in their final year of instruction at the institution, i.e. 12th Grade Students. The mean age of the sub-group is 17 years. As has been pointed out elsewhere in this text, the student population of this particular grade stands at 549 students. This will be taken to be the population of the sub-group.
Community Boundaries
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