On any given Thursday, Regis Jesuit students are to go to there “academy period” class for an assembly, a survey, or whatever the school decides is a worthwhile activity for students. For many of the Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors, the topic of drug and alcohol abuse is one that has been repeated to them over and over and it never comes as a surprise when it comes back up the next year. Through past years, the repetition of this topic has been seen as somewhat boring, pointless, and somewhat un-relatable coming from the same people with the same message, but this year was different for many. On Thursday, November 29, A panel of 3 experienced adults spoke to the boys division on the topic of abusing drugs and alcohol.

The opening speaker, Nancy Brittain, along with the second speaker, Ben Digati, did not follow the typical script for a talk like this. Rather then a lecture about why students shouldn’t smoke weed or drink, these two spoke from experience and presented the facts that interested the students and gave a basis for the effects that both drugs and alcohol can have on a High School aged student.

In comparison with all of the states in the US, Colorado ranks 9th for teen binge drinking. This is not a fact to be proud of. As for marijuana, A common misconception among users is that it is not addictive, when in reality, it can be very addictive. Among the people who start smoking weed in there teenage years, 17% have a hard time quitting. In Colorado especially, many people see weed and think, “it’s legal so why shouldn’t I do it?”, or “drugs are good, what’s the problem”, but the problem lies way deeper. The adolescent brain continues developing until the mid-20’s and marijuana is known and proven to kill brain cells. Smoking not only can hurt your brain, but also can reduce pleasure receptors and make it harder to enjoy the little things in your everyday life. The more that you use marijuana, the more you need to get the same level of high that you experienced the first time. This can not only lead to using the drug more but can also open the door to stronger, more dangerous drugs, that can provide you with the high your looking for.

Dave Pearson, an officer from a local drug unit, followed the two speakers above with examples of teenagers stories and how drugs affected their lives. A drug charge is more then just a simple ticket or lecture from a parent. Getting caught with drugs at our age can ruin our reputation and eliminate any chance of getting a good job in Colorado. The risk completely outweighs the benefits and can determine your future.

The point of this talk was not to persecute teens for there decisions or to say that all teens smoke weed or drink, in fact only 7 percent of teens admit to smoking weed at least once in the past month, but the overall lesson to be learned from this talk is to actually look at the risks of the choices you make. Whether you have done these things in the past or not, your choice to smoke or drink doesn’t make you a bad person, but just shows that you made a bad choice. From here, there is nothing to be done by anyone else to make this decision for you, it is your choice what you put into your body, but remember the facts about what it can do to you and think twice before giving into drugs and alcohol.