drug issues

The best thing I can tell you to do is to come down hard on the kids. Stick to your rules. DO NOT under any circumstances allow how good a player is to determine his punishment. I can tell you for a FACT when I was in that situation 12-15 years ago, we had a few players that would get away with it because of how good they were, and the other guys on the team saw this and thought "Johnny can smoke weed and do salvia without the fear of getting caught, so can I ". If the kids are consistently getting into trouble, you may have to cut the turds off the team, and see what happens to their social life without football. Im not talking about one istance, but if this happens 3-4 times, you have to get the parasites off the team. Of course, you should take every alternative to ensure this doesnt have to happen. Pi$$ test your team,show them stories of burned out ex jocks working at grocery stores, etc. I know that as a kid the things that REALLY scared me were my old teammates that got in trouble/dropped out etc. I didnt want to be known the way that they did.

So there's a box for kids to rat each other out?

Get a scared straight speaker to come in, preferably a former athlete. I'm looking into it. Lost 2 guys to drugs this off-season.

We're dealing with this. Lotta potheads in the graduating senior class, synthetic form of heroin is on the rise in the area, pretty scary, tbh.

Step 1 has been educating them on drug use and it's consequences for them not only as people, but as athletes.

Step 2 has been trying to encourage positive peer pressure regarding staying clean and staying out of trouble.

Step 3 actually came from the school/district in that they've begun random drug dog sweeps of the school to discourage that kind of stuff from appearing on campus. I'm mixed on this one because the message has been "Keep this stuff away from campus", not "Stay away from this stuff".

The program has laid out a pretty simple message in that players who get mixed up with drugs won't be part of the program for long, but it's hard to take meaningful action without some sort of evidence via the school's discipline office.

I'm going to be the cynic here.. The kids are apparently being bombarded with policies that are geared towards steering them away from abusing drugs yet they're still doing it. There's a "snitch box" where a kid can be basically put under school surveillance yet they're smoking weed on school property. They're also hit with anti-drug media adds constantly.

You don't have a drug problem, you have an idiot problem.

The way I look at it is the kids are going to do what they are going to do...I don't coach in a large school so I have close interaction with our kids and as in all small towns I get wind of a lot of things (true or untrue). if I get wind of something I usually talk to the kid in private about the choices they may or may not be making and what the perception is of them and the things they are putting in jeopardy if they are in fact doing it. If they get caught (and its not just rumor) then there is a policy and they are basically done with athletics for a LONG time. stick to your guns and don't let anything slide. if it isnt proven but there is word about a certain kid maybe have a talk with them (I never ask a kid to admit or deny whether they are doing it just approach it from what I have heard and perception of other people). usually where there is smoke there is fire so they either clean up whatever they were doing and get back to playing sports or they eventually get caught and get the boot. the best you can do is warn them and talk to them on a level that isnt perceived as "attacking" or "accusing" but again if they get caught red handed then stick to the policy.....i hate to ay it like that but usually the "education" stuff is taken as a joke and they don't listen but they sometimes listen to a coach they respect and love as long as it is done the right way (but not all of them listen) just the way it is. some kids fight harder to be "bad" the more people they have telling them not to be...jmo

We had a few kids get caught with weed. All are starters ( best ol/dl stud rb, best lb) they are all suspended indefinitely. They aren't playing in the spring game or fall classic and depending on their behavior if they miss anymore games. Upon finding out we had a guy who is close to the program that alot of the kids know come speak about drugs. What they didn't know is that he had spent 2 years in prison because of drugs but has since been straightened out for a while now. May have opened some of their eyes. We hope so anyway.

This only works when the "leaders" aren't the ones using. When the better players, more popular players are the ones using drugs then the other players won't step up and say anything to them. We've been there.

coach...I cannot disagree with that statement

Evan if everything that you say is true, how does this help the OP? 

I honestly don't know what we can do anymore about the growing drug use in this country. I sometimes feel like we're about the only ones left who try to keep them away from it. I've got parents who not only provide the pot for their kid, they smoke it with them. It just seems like that for whatever reason our culture has become more 4:20 friendly than at any time ever before and people seem to think that any drug use is awesome. I don't know what to do honestly.

My efforts on it are this- I try to be a positive example of what you can do with your life if you don't drink or do drugs (I don't do either- never have tried a drug outside caffeine and haven't drank more than two drinks in about 5 years). We talk about the damage it can do at practices. I point out kids they may have played with that are wasting their lives getting high. Ultimately, when you're one voice being shouted down by millions, I don't know that we're doing much good at it though.

Thanks for the input. I don't know you nor am I going to critcize you for your decisons. Someone close to me smokes pot regularly and is very successful scientist so I am sure there is adults out there who can have some recreational habits that society may frown upon but live a normal life. Those people are fully mature, fully brain developed adults. However we aren't coaching adults here. 

I am not an angel but I know I have a responsbility to set the proper example for our student-athletes. Bottom line is this, we live in a major metro area. At least twice a month there is a murder or car accident resulting in death from a teenager (always between ages of 15-18) who is on drugs. I am sure others on this board can attest that certain areas of this country face different and more difficult challenges than other areas due to a wide range of problems. As a HS coach, my realm is education and athletics, not US goverment and laws.. ANYWAY, off the soapbox and back to the original intent of the thread...

For everyone else-
As I read the responses, the most common 2 responses are

1)Bring in a speaker

2)Positive peer pressure

I like #1 but I worry that some kids wouldnt take it as it serious as they should because TV shows. Most HS kids arent mature enough to recognize the future/long term consequences of their actions even if someone shows it to them in black in white. I think a speaker would reach SOME kids. Especially if it is someone they know. However, I really like the idea of positive peer pressure. This kinda goes into character education and teaching leadership to your kids.

Do any of you rely on a leadership council or your captains to do some of this positive peer pressure for you?

One word....Ridiculous. As a Health teacher for 15 years I can tell you FOR A FACT that the THC content of a marijuana cigarette is almost 17 times the amount it was in the 60's and the smoke inhalation damage is equivalent to smoking 5 tobacco cigarettes simultaneously. Furthermore, THC stores itself for a month after one use in the brain and testes. This causes short term memory loss, lack of concentration and the possibility of infertility in ADULTS, let alone adolescents that arent even fully developed yet. 

The human brain in males doesn't even finish growing until 19-23 years old and marijuana adds THC to the biological mix.

As for your comment about preferring kids smoke pot rather than drink? I would rather they do NEITHER. You sound like a teenager.

Your post is a cop out. I assume you are a grown man (although difficult to decipher based on post, just sayin') as a grown man you have the right to make your decisions, but to act as though smoking weed is okay for kids is ridiculous. Furthermore, if a kid wants to be under the influence and he can't score weed, guess what? He's going to use alcohol or some other substance. He's not going to wait for the weed. It is a proven fact that addiction is hereditary. So, maybe you can handle smoking weed and not messing yourself up. Many kids CANNOT. They have genetic predisposition to addiction. Do you think all drug addicts on heroin STARTED w/ HERION? Are you really going to tell me that little Johnny who never used before is going to start with that? It's a progression!

It will only be a stepping stone for them into much more. Even if just one kid gets messed up on this stuff your condoning of it is partially responsible and your stance on this matter represents FAILURE in my eyes.

I cannot in good conscience say anything other than that even if it's not PC to do so on a forum like this.

Furthermore, you mention being from the UK. As a parent I politely ask that you stay there. Don't "subject" yourself to our "stupid laws" that have us #1 in the world in technology, science and medicine. The only thing I see wrong w/ this country is we decided for some strange reason to FOLLOW European influence. That's like asking the the last place team in your conference for advice.

Maybe this was harsh, but as a parent of young ones I would not want you anywhere near my kids.  

A man named Dr. Lynsky did a group/ team research project between America and Australia and published their findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The article tested all twins, nobody else. Why? Because twins have the same socio economic background, homes, school environment, family history and almost identical genes if they are identical. The report FOUND that any twin who chose to use weed before the age of 17 was 2-5 times more likely to abuse alcohol or drugs in adulthood. The ones who had no family addiction were 2x as likely as their twin who did not use weed before 17, if addiction was a family trait they were 5X more likely while their twin who did not use before the age of 17 was not.

Furthermore, all twins who were hard drug users (heroin/coke) reported using cannabis as their 1st dug of choice while their twin has few if any issues.

I'm sorry if those who say it is a gateway drug lose credibility in your eyes, but THEIR IS plenty of PROOF to corroborate this if you actually are INTERESTED IN FINDING IT. The bottom line is whether it is, or is not a gateway drug, you are rolling the dice. The bigger question is why does someone use drugs or alcohol? If many feel they NEED to do so, then their is an underlying issue.

All I know is this: I have been in the American high school for almost 20 years now, and I can almost TO A TEE walk down the halls and pick out kids by sight who smoke weed regularly based on appearance alone. More often than not they look messy and disheveled. Their attitudes change over time and their grades MORE OFTEN than NOT suffer. They also are usually fighting with their parents.

I know this b/c I am the Dean at our school and almost w/o question kids who we suspect sooner or later screw up and get caught and I am often the one doing the catching. Unfortunately, many times it's kids who as freshman look like great kids with a sparkle in their eye and by senior year they look tired and worn and act disrespectful and rebellious. I HAVE SEEN THIS TIME & AGAIN W/ MY OWN EYES and I know I'm not the only one on the board who has experienced the change in kids using weed or other drugs over a 4 year period.  

As for legalization? Not in it's current form it shouldn't. It would have to be greatly reduced in terms of THC, or else it will be a HUGE issue. 

PS _ You say alcohol destroys lives but weed not so bad? You are neglecting the fact that if kids are willing to use weed they are most likely to use alcohol as well when they have access to it. Not always so the other way around. That's kind of important to note.