BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. — A new national drug prevention program has been implemented in Blount County schools after some school districts said they saw a rise in the number of students using drugs.
The program brought together county commissioners, the health department, the school district and an anti-drug coalition. The program cost the county around $11,000. School leaders said the program is meant to address drug use while during students' most crucial years.
"We don't say, 'just don't do drugs.' We explain why," said Melissa Crabtree, a teacher at Carpenters Middle School. "We got together and first started talking about it. Every school seemed to have the same issues that we were having here."
She said she has taught at the school for around 17 years. Over her time there, she said she has seen more students start experimenting with drugs at younger ages. What was popular among students during the mid-2000s, such as cigarettes, has since changed to marijuana products and vape pens.
"One thing that we spend a lot of time on is vaping because we've had a lot of instances of students having vaping materials or vaping here at school," said Crabtree.
She said some children as young as 11 years old were caught with vaping products or similar items at school.
The drug prevention program focuses on the effects of methamphetamine, bath salts and cocaine, she said. It is meant to expose children to the harmful effects of drug use before they even step into high school.
"One thing that makes them so crucial is their brains are still in development. Brains are in development until age 25, and anything they do to their brains right now, typically, you don't recover from," said Crabtree.
Some of the lessons also go beyond drug use and address some factors that may influence children's choices to use drugs.
"Some are dealing with the types of substance abuse at home — family members, opioids, is not uncommon at all for parents or extended family members to have gotten involved," she said.
Since implementing the program, the county said it has seen a decrease in vaping in school and the program was expanded to the sixth, seventh and eighth grades.