Drug abuse exists at every school in the U.S., including FHS. Studies from the National Center for Drug Abuse show that 50% of teenagers have misused a drug at least once. Many of FHS’s school staff and administrators deal with student addiction and work to help students recover from substance abuse and addiction.

The FHS Dean of Students Marya Valdivia works with students on a daily basis and helps handle FHS operations, part of which is dealing with students’ struggles with substance abuse.

“I see student substance use basically weekly, it’s quite common,” Valdivia said. “We have the vape sensors in the student bathrooms and they continually go off every day and we see the trends and increases and decreases across campus.”

Unfortunately, many cases of addiction are found too late. In 2021, 106,699 people died of an overdose, according to the CDC. One of the most efficient and easy preventative methods of treating an overdose is Narcan, also known as Naloxone, a drug that can reverse an opioid overdose by blocking the effects of opiates on the brain; this drug is readily available at most pharmacies as an on-the-shelf medication. FHS staff members utilize this to ensure that students are safe and possible overdoses are prepared for.

“Teachers take mandatory training for Narcan, the opioid overdose drug, to ensure that if needed, they can use it correctly and help students,” Valdivia said.

As well as Narcan training, FHS offers many different opportunities for student recovery, including informative classes that can help teach the students about the dangers of substances.

“We have a few different programs that help FHS students,” Jesus Ramirez, a Family and Community Liaison at FHS said. “We have different ones for a volunteer basis and some that are utilized when a student is caught in possession of or using substances. Different classes and information given can help students understand the effect that drugs have on their development.”

Understanding the background of addiction is another aspect of the recovery process. In many cases, addiction is grown from trauma or other mental disorders that can affect one’s life. The psychology behind this issue presents itself in the daily lives of many and is a vital step to helping those who struggle with addiction recover.

“Something important to note is that in many cases, drug use is brought on by something going wrong or negatively in that person’s life, which can bring about this drug use that brings them to us in the long run,” Valdivia said. “We try to make sure that they receive therapy and help to recover from those issues too.”

Staff and administration offer many different kinds of support and information for students at FHS and throughout the entire FUHSD district.