Prince William Co. schools see an uptick in substance use

Julia Eisen – WMAL News | September 25, 2023

Drug use in schools is on the rise, both nationally and across schools the DC Metro area.

Chair of the Prince William County school board, Dr. Babur Lateef, says that drug use in Prince William county has increased significantly.

“Prince William substance use has increased I would say almost double,” Dr. Lateef told WMAL News. “It’s very worrisome.”

A recent report stated that 1,800 Prince William County students received a substance abuse violation in 2022. In the 2018-2019 school year, there were only 864 violations.

Dr. Lateef blames the ease of access to drugs.

“We’re doing the best we can in the school division. I think society continues to fail when they want to dump healthcare on school divisions. We don’t have strong substance abuse programs nationwide and especially not in Prince William County,” Dr. Lateef said.

However, Prince William County schools are trying to curb the usage of vapes and other drugs in schools. The new weapons detection systems that are being installed in Prince William County Schools will not only detect weapons but also vapes and other drugs.

WMAL News Correspondent Barbara Britt contributed to this report.

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