Moral responsibilities and legal consequences
Over 1,100 adolescents in the U.S. died from drug overdose in 2021. Of those, 884 deaths were related to fentanyl, over a 300% increase from 2019.
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid often used in medical practice, kills quickly. Two milligrams are enough to kill an average adult. Due to its addictive nature and cheap manufacturing, some dealers lace other opioids, psychostimulants, and cocaine with fentanyl to cut costs and ensure constant business. However, their customers are not usually aware of the change. One pill may be fine, two can be deadly.
At the high school level, dealers have varying reasons for selling nicotine vapes and marijuana. However, most don’t deal with the intention of causing overdoses and understand the moral implications and the weight they carry by selling narcotics.
“I do feel a sense of responsibility for their health, and everything I am giving them could hurt them, but at the same point, it’s their choice, and they’re going to get it either way,” Williams said. “So I’m just giving it to them in a safe way where they’re not getting it another way that has fentanyl in it or from a person that’s really toxic.”
Thomas echoed a similar sentiment, claiming he ensures his merchandise is real and not laced with other opioids to protect his business.
“You can’t sell to a dead customer,” Thomas said.
High school users often aren’t purchasing narcotics in attempts to overdose as well. The main drivers of usage include social groups, experimentation, and mental health, according to the Indian Health Service. Thus, mutual trust is essential.
“I have to know you to get stuff from you. I don’t trust random dealers; it’s personal safety,” said Ava Miller, a student at Carlmont.
School discipline for possession of narcotics varies depending on the situation. According to Steunenberg, possession or influence of marijuana or alcohol results in confiscation, in-school suspension, and a conversation with parents. For the most part, these consequences would be in place if the student is found with marijuana or alcohol from the moment they leave their home in the morning to the moment they arrive back home from school.
A second offense would likely result in a longer suspension or the option to do drug and alcohol counseling. However, catching a student with narcotics or vapes is difficult for the administration.
“If I see a group of 10 guys in the bathroom, I’ve got to figure out reasonable suspicion in order to search them,” Steunenberg said. “When I walk in, there’s a bunch of people in there, so what? Nothing illegal about being a bunch of people. Seeing a plume of smoke, or seeing someone breathe it out, or I see the haze in there, provides me with enough reasonable suspicion to bring them in and search.”
According to Steunenberg, the Carlmont administration errs on the side of caution regarding reasonable suspicion to search a student. They violate the student’s rights and could lose their job if they don’t have enough reason to search.
“If we catch a group of people in the bathroom, we’re pretty sure we know what they were doing,” Steunenberg said. “If we don’t have that reasonable suspicion, we’re gonna let them go because, more than likely, they’re gonna do it another day, and at some point, we’ll catch them.”
For the most part, narcotic-related incidences on school grounds will be handled by both the Carlmont administration and law enforcement. According to Vogel, both academic discipline and criminal justice proceed congruent in cases where the police are involved.
“We’re going to kind of look at the totality of the circumstances to determine whether criminal charges are appropriate and make an arrest, or maybe school discipline is enough or school and parent discipline,” Vogel said. “Generally, anything we try doing, we’re going to make it go through the criminal justice system. That way, there’s some accountability rather than just a warning.”
Even with various academic and judicial punishments for getting caught and the weight of others’ lives on their shoulders, some high school students still sell narcotics. Statistics of narcotic overdoses and fentanyl deaths make it easy to view all dealers as heartless criminals who would do anything for extra cash. At the end of the day though, they’re all humans, too.
“Most of the student dealers I know are good people,” Martin said. “People think drug dealers are evil people and stuff, but that’s not the reality.”
Resources:
California Drug Abuse Hotline: 844-289-0879
Caifornia Addiction Hotline: 866-210-1303