Rudolf: “Addiction is a pediatric disease”

By Stephi Smith, Executive Editor|December 9, 2015

On Tuesday, Dec. 8, Dr. Greg Rudolf spoke to MTHS students about the harmful effects of teen drug addiction in the MTHS theater at 7:30 p.m.

With a slideshow and statistics to match, Rudolf shared with the students how popular certain drugs are, the range of drugs among certain grades and the signs of people taking drugs.

Rudolf used statistics from the National Institute of Drug Abuse and the University of Washington School of Medicine.

He said the most common drug among high school seniors was marijuana and then Adderall, a prescription drug used for attention deficit disorders among teens.

“There has been a significant increase of [marijuana] use of these past years, it’s just not safe for teenagers,” Rudolf said.

He continued, explaining the consequences that people under the influence of marijuana have been hospitalized due to panic attacks and becoming ill.

He encouraged students to speak with either the various “help lines” offered for people dealing with drug abuse, a counselor at school or their parents.

“There are a lot of resources [students] can reach out to,” he said.

MTHS was Rudolf’s second lecture at a high school, his first being at Liberty High School in Renton, Wash. There, he spoke to parents about how to be aware if their kids are on drugs.

“A big part of this is keeping everyone aware of the effects of drugs,” Rudolf said.

Rudolf said he wants students to feel empowered so they may be able to not use drugs if the opportunity were to arise.

About the Writer

Stephi Smith, Executive Editor

Stephi Smith is one of the co-Editors-in-Chief of the Hawkeye. Her official title is Executive Editor.

This is Stephi’s fourth year on the Hawkeye. Last year, she created a Hawkeye Snapchat account with the hopes of advancing the organization’s coverage of online and social media reporting.

Prior to serving as Editor, she was the News Editor her junior year and Copy Editor her sophomore year, as well as taking the lead on the Crime and Police beat. During her sophomore year, she attended the JEA National Convention in Washington, D.C. where she learned she wanted to be a journalist. Since then, she’s fallen in love with reporting and reported on many different kinds of stories, from School Board meetings to sexual assault on campus.

Next year, Stephi will be attending the University of Missouri with a major in Journalism. As a career, she hopes to report on either crime, government and politics or education.