Do Most Students at Sidwell Smoke Pot?

[Anonymous]

There are plenty of kids at SFS who don't do that stuff. You find your own crowd.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Yup! But I also think that you need to distinguish between kids smoking every day and letting it interfere with their life/studies, versus occasional use at parties or concerts (same with alcohol). How is pot any different than drinking? Frankly more worried about binge drinking in terms of health effects and bad behavior. In our recent experience with two DDs at Sidwell, the top students were definitely not smoking pot all the time and many did not smoke at all. It was easily available, as it is at any school in the area, whether public or private, right now according to our kids.

OP here. Thank you for answering my question as to how common pot smoking is at Sidwell. Seeing Malia do it just struck me as odd because at my public h.s. the very top students (who weren't even Harvard bound) weren't smoking it. So it seems somewhat surprising to me that the top kids at Sidwell are doing it. I can't imagine Malia is the only one

I have one at a top Private and one at a Public. Both schools have groups of kids that do smoke pot and both have groups that do not. No difference.

But generally speaking, smoking pot is not common among the types of kids who get admitted to Harvard.

Ridiculous statement. Harvard has admitted cocaine users, aka George W. Bush and Barak Obama. A little pot is nothing.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The posters on this site should spend a little time with the enormous body of research on the subject. Kids from wealthy families are just as likely to use drugs as those from lower SES. White kids are just as likely as Black and Hispanics. Smart kids just as likely as the less gifted. All of these comments just play into a narrative that reinforces existing prejudice. It also provides false comfort to parents who believe, falsely, that they can insulate their children from these exposures. So, the next time you pour that large glass of Chardonnay after a long day, just remember that your kids don't make the same artificial distinction between alcohol and pot that we once did.

My husband went to a LMC high school, I went to an UMC public one. He has stories of lots of kids getting high in Middle School. I never even heard of kids in my middle school doing drugs.

So there is your scientific study; sample size, 2.

I think most of us kind of "get" that drug use tends to be heavier at lower income schools.

That's your prejudices kicking in. Drug use crosses all SES lines. It's just that poor people are more concentrated, do their drugs more in the open, and the police are more concentrated on the poor. I will never forget a party I attended many years ago. I was a new attorney and a prosecutor. I walked into the party full of attorneys, accountants and other white collar professionals. The party goers were doing lines of coke. I exited the party, but I know the police did not show up and arrest a single person. The higher your SES, the more freedom you are allowed to use your drug of choice without any ramifications. The key is being able to control your drug use so that it does not affect your normal every day activities. Once you show that weakness, your social and professional circle scatters.

[Anonymous]

Kids make different choices in high school. It's nice that her parents let her be herself and not force her to fit into a mold. She's definitely not the only student at SFS who got a boost in college admissions. Other kids also benefit from legacy, sports, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The posters on this site should spend a little time with the enormous body of research on the subject. Kids from wealthy families are just as likely to use drugs as those from lower SES. White kids are just as likely as Black and Hispanics. Smart kids just as likely as the less gifted. All of these comments just play into a narrative that reinforces existing prejudice. It also provides false comfort to parents who believe, falsely, that they can insulate their children from these exposures. So, the next time you pour that large glass of Chardonnay after a long day, just remember that your kids don't make the same artificial distinction between alcohol and pot that we once did.

Mom of public school teens here, and a public school grad myself. In my observation, the biggest predictive factor in teen substance use is parent substance use. Parents who frequently get a buzz on, love to post pics of their cocktails on FB, host and attend lots of boozy barbecues and superbowl parties, etc? Their kids are much more likely to drink and use drugs. Parents who rarely or never do these things? Their kids are less likely.

My observations are anecdotal of course, but I believe research actually backs up my theory.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I guess as a parent of a toddler who is trying to decide whether to send DD to private or public, I find this notion of marijuana being so prevalent at top privates to be quite disturbing. Obviously plenty of public school students smoke pot as well. But in my experience it was definitely not the norm among the very top students, and I'm apprehensive about spending $480,000 to put her in a peer group that is more likely to smoke pot than what she would be with if she were a presumably top student in a public school.

Teenagers are going to drink and smoke pot - and some might have sex. I really wish we embraced the European model so we could get the binge-ness out of our society. But this really ought not be a determining factor in a choice between private or public schools.

Um no. A school's culture for most parents is the most critical factor in the decision of where to send their child. Most parents would not view a school that has a pervasive drug culture as a plus.

Np here. Your last sentence is just brilliant. Very insightful.

At any school, in suburban or urban America, if a kid wants pot they can get it.

Of course. A kid can get pot if they want it. But most aren't going to seek it out if no one in their social group smokes it.

This school does not exist.

Really. So every teenager in every high school in America has friends that smoke pot?

Yes, actually. I would say this is true.

I agree with this 100%. I never drank or used any drugs in high school. Ever.

I had plenty of friends who drank and smoked pot and god knows what else. I stayed home from the parties because it bothered me. Doesn't mean we weren't good friends. (And actually, one of them went to Harvard.)

[jsteele]

One would think that adults could responsibly discuss children. Of course, one would be wrong.