Anonymous wrote:

In college, likewise, I saw plenty of drinking and smoking, but no drugs.

My kids went to Blair, and to the best of my knowledge, their experience mirrored my own. They're not interested in drugs and neither are their friends.

I just spit out my coffee. Blair has some serious problems with drug dealers, weapons and gangs. I don't doubt that your kids stayed away from drugs but Blair has some major problems and dangerous future criminals.

And in an odd way, this protects UMC and MC students because they are essentially in a parallel but separate world from the gang bangers. The gansters have a business to run, an organization to tend to, and kids to feed. They don't have the time or inclination to take calculus or try out for the lacrosse team.

OP parents don't want to admit it, but it is a changed world. THC via vaping is everywhere. That opens the door to more. It's everywhere. Public, private, low income, high income. Maybe certain religious schools are less affected. Need to have open communication with DCs, trust within family, adjust friend circles to stay with those who don't use.

In college, likewise, I saw plenty of drinking and smoking, but no drugs.

My kids went to Blair, and to the best of my knowledge, their experience mirrored my own. They're not interested in drugs and neither are their friends.

I just spit out my coffee. Blair has some serious problems with drug dealers, weapons and gangs. I don't doubt that your kids stayed away from drugs but Blair has some major problems and dangerous future criminals.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Following the topic of a previous post about the hospitalized vapers from Churchill, which MoCo high schools have a reputation for LESS drug use?Also for middle schools? Is Walter Johnson or Wootton better in that regard, or are locals privates like Bullis or St Andrews better?

The ones where students have less money to spend on it.

This. Wootton is pretty bad because kids have access to a lot of money on a regular basis. And there is a large enough parent group who doesn’t care what their kids do as long as the grades are good.

Look for a middle class school. Drugs are everywhere, but access isn’t equal across schools.

I can't remember if there's another, similar article, that I can't find, but affluence is a risk factor: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/many-teens-drink-rich-ones-like-kavanaugh-are-more-likely-to-abuse-alcohol/2018/09/28/6bb641aa-c27c-11e8-97a5-ab1e46bb3bc7_story.html?utm_term=.8fda4082a565

All the MS and HS have drugs and alcohol, sure. But some also have a higher proportion of kids able to afford them, fake IDs, etc., so it becomes normalized.

This question reminds me of my Dad years ago, in another part of the country, when I was about to enter the local magnet school in avpart of town that wasn't great. My Dad asked my cousin (who was already a student) if there were a lot of drugs around. My cousin replied that while he was sure some kids used drugs, he'd never been approached or seen others using. He guessed they could tell he wouldn't be interested. His answer assuaged my Dad's concerns enough to let me go. The worst thing I saw was some kids smoking in the campus parking lot, and they weren't trying to involve me. Granted, smoking is awful, but I don't think it's what OP is concerned about, and in the 80s the smoking culture was more prevalent.

In college, likewise, I saw plenty of drinking and smoking, but no drugs.

My kids went to Blair, and to the best of my knowledge, their experience mirrored my own. They're not interested in drugs and neither are their friends.

I suspect in any school, a kid who wants drugs can find them. Similarly, as long as the drug culture hasn't taken over the school, I imagine a kid who has no interest in drugs and is involved in other things will gravitate toward like-minded peers and probably will have little, if any, contact with drugs.

For those who want statistics by school, you can select a specific school on the MCPS website, scroll down to Reports, and then select School Safety and Security at a Glance.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/

All MSs and HSs have drugs available for those who want it. To believe otherwise is naive. Teach your child to make good choices, and don't worry about it!

This article is a few years old, but I would imagine not that much has changed at Churchill.

http://www.thechurchillobserver.com/features/2014/11/20/do-chs-student-just-say-no/

According to the Observer survey, 39.8 percent of CHS students have admitted to using drugs before. The junior class has the highest percentage of drug users, with 62.8 percent of junior survey-takers admitting to using drugs.

Families we know at Whitman and BCC have been surprised at how widespread drug use is, even among athletes. Our kids aren’t in high school yet, so no first hand experience.

IDK but my DD went from. A private k-8 to public high school. From what we’ve heard privates are much worse in terms of drug use.

Is there a source that one can research drug or medical or criminal incidents by high school? How do surrounding schools like Quince Orchard in North Potomac fare, or further out like Poolesville?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Following the topic of a previous post about the hospitalized vapers from Churchill, which MoCo high schools have a reputation for LESS drug use?Also for middle schools? Is Walter Johnson or Wootton better in that regard, or are locals privates like Bullis or St Andrews better?

The ones where students have less money to spend on it.

^^^and parents have less money to spend on lawyers to get the students out of trouble

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Following the topic of a previous post about the hospitalized vapers from Churchill, which MoCo high schools have a reputation for LESS drug use?Also for middle schools? Is Walter Johnson or Wootton better in that regard, or are locals privates like Bullis or St Andrews better?

The ones where students have less money to spend on it.

Yes, clearly the schools in low-income communities have no issues with drugs. /s

Anonymous wrote:Following the topic of a previous post about the hospitalized vapers from Churchill, which MoCo high schools have a reputation for LESS drug use?Also for middle schools? Is Walter Johnson or Wootton better in that regard, or are locals privates like Bullis or St Andrews better?

The ones where students have less money to spend on it.

Following the topic of a previous post about the hospitalized vapers from Churchill, which MoCo high schools have a reputation for LESS drug use?Also for middle schools? Is Walter Johnson or Wootton better in that regard, or are locals privates like Bullis or St Andrews better?