Loudoun County is taking major precautions to help end the fentanyl crisis in high schools. They plan to conduct unannounced searches starting next month in order to keep drugs from entering the school grounds. As of March, these dogs may be used to search students’ property on campus like lockers and school bags, but they will not search the students themselves.
These actions are being put into place in hopes of saving lives. Last fall, Park View High School had nine student overdoses ‒ all suspected to be related to fentanyl-laced pills. This crisis is preventable. Schools teach about the dangers of drugs, but it’s time to take big leaps in order to put an end to these risks. Loudoun County is pursuing this job in order to show students that they are taking these risks seriously, and they are willing to do what they can.
Fairfax County hosted a forum in January, following the death of a student from Justice High School in December. Are these risks just as apparent for students in FCPS? What about at South Lakes?
“[The drug crisis] definitely a problem,” said Tori Wedge, a South Lakes student, also stating that people are likely doing drugs daily in school bathrooms.
“I think it would be effective if students didn’t know when the dogs would be on campus, otherwise they would just hide their drugs and be able to get away with it,” said Bella Neil, another South Lakes student.
In middle and high school classes, lessons on the dangers of drugs are taught multiple times a year. It seems as though these lessons may not be teaching in a way that will stick with students. When dealing with an issue this serious, the consequences of drug use must be drilled into the mind of each student from a young age in order to keep them out of harm’s way in the future.
“I just know that fentanyl is dangerous. I’ve heard that it can kill you, and I want to stay away from that,” said Wedge. She also remarked how most of her knowledge on the dangers of drugs had come from outside of school rather than from lessons taught in class.
Drug overdoses affect the lives of too many students in Virginia, let alone in America as a whole. At the end of the day, this precaution is about keeping students safe at school. If this may be the final dig which can help students stay safe, then it must be worth it.
