By Eduardo Calderon | Staff Writer

Illegal drugs are talked about on a daily basis as a growing concern within the Jaguar community has focused attention on the abuse of prescription pills.

“It could hurt [users] physically and mentally,” sophomore Austin Farar said.

Pills are prescribed based on the symptoms of a particular patient.

“Prescription pills are prescribed by doctors based on weight, height, metabolism intake, and some pills are made for adults,” Principal Mehlbrech said, “There can be a severe reactions for kids, and they may not know the reaction.”

Although made for medicinal use, prescription pills can seriously injure students.

“Pills can actually harm you, because you may not know what the pill is,” Farar said, “It can harm you internally without you even knowing it.”

However, the effect of the pills in the short-term is typically apparent .

“It helps with any problem you feel, medically,” sophomore Isaiah Segura said.

Outside the realm of prescriptions, other drugs can be readily obtained and abused.

“Some are over-the-counter, and it does not bring concern to purchase them,” Segura said.

Since pills are easy to get, many students bring them everywhere, but abusing them at school can result in severe punishment.

“You can go to alternative high school, or any alternative school, and be fined for consuming a controlled substance,” Farar said.

The punishment for dealing pills is even worse than the penalty for taking them.

“If you distribute pills to another person, it’s automatic mandatory expulsion,” Mehlbrech said, “There is zero tolerance for drugs.”

The school has its own techniques for checking if someone is on any form of drug.

“If their behavior is different than normal, at times they’re lethargic, are stumbling while walking and can’t speak; then we know something is up,” AP Melvin Echard said.

The nurse also plays a role in verifying if a student has taken something bad.

“Usually what happens is that there is a physical/behavioral form, that measures respiration, pulse, etc,” Nurse Karen East said, “I take down the facts of the form, and the APs continue on with the job.”

The most effective force for finding illegal substances is the unexpected appearance of detection agents.

“If there is a need for the school, then the drug dogs will be sent,” AP Mitch Brown said, “The [officers] do not tell us when they’re coming; they’re usually surprise visits.”

The drug dogs are very important in the mission to clear the hallways of illegal substances.

“It keeps people honest in not bringing anything to school,” Brown said.

The outside world is not so forgiving toward the misuse of prescription pills.

“You get charged for narcotics,” Officer Rogers said, “It’s prescribed for someone else, so they are stolen narcotics.”

The danger of pills lies on a catastrophic level.

“There are so many unknowns about the drug that could attack major organs,” Mehlbrech said, “There are many serious consequences.”

The school created a severe code on substance abuse to protect students from the drugs and from themselves.

“They do not want kids to overdose,” senior Travis Cole said, “Kids do not know what they are messing with.”

The reasons for abusing pills are widely varied.

“Sometimes to focus,” Farar said, “[users] want to have a high and get through school quickly.”

Like every other illicit substance, pills draw many a student’s attentions.

“[A drug] attracts students because its addicting,” Farar said.

Abusing pills can have an everlasting affect on their users; one that transcends symptoms and punishments.

“If you take too many, you change mentally,” Farar said, “It changes who you are and how you act.”