Why should it be difficult to recover from mistakes? Most college students will likely come across a variety of drugs, alcohol or contraband some time during their college experience whether they want to or
not. Unfortunately, illegal drugs and contraband is a prevalent topic in news and is becoming increasingly
common throughout most colleges. It has also become immensely more difficult to dispose of contraband
due to society’s views on addicts and the laws that can make an addict fearful to search for help. While
methods like PSAs and counseling are done to combat contraband use, more is needed to be done.

Although amnesty boxes may not be used to their full potential, having amnesty rooms in schools and
colleges could help students to get rid of their contraband anonymously and avoid needless repercussion.
As contraband use increases over the years, many more students are being expelled for drug use or assault
in college. As Jeff Kass of LA Times describes, “Drugs and violence within the district have resulted in
the expulsions of a record 11 students this year”i
. This was the end result of an increase of drugs in 1995
at Palos Verdes Peninsula High School in which the worst case was when a marijuana seller was beaten
unconscious with a baseball bat after attempting to switch out the drugs with fakes. While drugs continue
to be fairly uncommon with younger audiences, colleges have major issues concerning drugs of any kind.
According to Addiction Center, a highly rated college anti-drug rehabilitation association,
“Approximately 31 percent of U.S. college students report symptoms of alcohol abuse”ii as well as, “... 80 percent of U.S. college students have abused alcohol”iii. Alcohol abuse is becoming more common in
college students and is easily accessible to obtain. Due to the accessibility, “An estimated 110,000 students between the ages of 18-24 are arrested every year for an alcohol-related violation, such as public drunkenness or driving under the influence”iv. Very little is done by colleges to stop drug abuse and is in dire need to be addressed or the issue will remain.

Unfortunately, the increasing abuse of drugs is partly due to the variety of drugs, and how easy it can be to get them. Many different types of drugs have be found to be in use or trending. The Recovery Village  states that drugs like alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs are becoming increasingly popular, with alcohol abuse being the most infamous for “nearly 200,000 ER visits and 4,300 deaths among kids under 21”v
.
After a series of surveys, they concluded that, “68% of 12th graders have tried alcohol, 35.1% of 12th graders have tried marijuana in the past year, and only 32% of 12th graders feel the marijuana is
harmful”vi. These statistics are worrying considering that, “81% of 12th graders say that it would be easy to get marijuana” and “...nearly 44% of high school students know a classmate who sells drugs”vii. The effects of drug abuse by students is varied but a common find is that the consumer is never benefited and can find it difficult to quit.

In particular, it is difficult for students to get the help they need if they are already unwilling to reach out to others. It is troubling for addicts or casual drug users to quit when there is no easy way to dispose of their drugs without being punished in some way. It can especially difficult for addicts to quit because our society often shames people who are suffering from an addiction. Drug stigmatization and insensitive words can make it difficult for kids to ask for help if they themselves believe they are morally fine and
suffering from the guilt or shame that stigmatization causes. According to The Recovery Village, stigmatization can, “...prevent teens from seeking professional help, receive substandard medical care, and can impact a student’s professional opportunities”viii. If society itself makes it difficult for addicts, how can they quit? If reaching out to others is too difficult, students need new ways to solve their problems by themselves.

If students don’t seek help, amnesty boxes would allow students to solve their own issues without repercussion. Amnesty boxes are used currently used at airports, raves, and other events for people to anonymously dispose of their contraband with no punishment or questions asked. It would be a valuable asset to any college to own something similar to amnesty boxes in order to rid their school’s drug issues.

While it is nice to have ways to dispose of drugs outside of school, to combat the increased drug use in schools, we should fight the issue at its source. A temporary solution could be to have schools administer amnesty boxes or rooms for students to anonymously drop off their contraband, no matter what it is, and receive absolutely no repercussion for doing so. In order to accomplish this feat, donation money the schools collect or donations from outside sources could be used to pay for the appropriate materials.

Eventually, if new methods are completed to help addicts, it could help many students recover from their mistakes easily.