Everyone has heard about the phenomenon of drug use at formal high school dances. 

This is nothing new at Cal High or other high schools nationwide.

But have students ever wondered why this trend has endured for decades? 

Students have different ideas on why drug use at formal school dances has become a normal affair. Some think kids use drugs at dances to loosen up and ease social anxiety. 

“Well from a sociological perspective, it’s a behavior that we’ve heavily associated with the event of prom,” said junior Asha Ray-Chaudhuri. “Psychologically, it may be symptomatic that people use as a way to feel more comfortable in a highly anticipated social event.”

The desire to be hardcore and outdo others is another factor that plays into students’ drug use at prom and ball.

“It’s like a chain reaction, because when one person gets high, others are gonna be like ‘I want to be get higher than him,’” said a senior boy who wished to remain anonymous. 

Other students think people use drugs at dances just to have more fun and enhance the event. 

“Either they think it’s cool, or they feel like it would be more fun,” said junior Ryan Brown.

Teens take drugs generally to “relieve boredom, feel good, satisfy their curiosity, ease their pain, feel grown up, show their independence or belong to a specific group,” according to the Get Smart About Drugs website, a DEA resource.

In a recent survey conducted by the American Automobile Association, 31 percent of teens aged 16-19 reported they are likely to do drugs or drink alcohol during prom or ball, or the months surrounding the big formal events.

“With prom, it just means what people can get away with sneaking into the bus,” said junior Matt Martinez. “Maybe edibles at the most, I really can’t imagine anyone trying anything more.” 

Lots of students admit that marijuana is a common drug used at prom.

“That was a spicy time,” said a different anonymous senior boy, reflecting on his prom experience last year. “Lots of confections with cannabinoids and tetrahydrate.”

Teachers and administrators have a very different take than students on why young people partake in this behavior. 

“It’s hard for me to understand,” said leadership teacher Erin McFerrin, whose classes helped organize the school’s junior prom at the Rotunda in Oakland last weekend and is planning Senior Ball on May 13.

Some venues have their own security and thoroughly search students, which is another reason why the staff is confused as to why kids still attempt to bring drugs and alcohol to formal dances. 

“Anything, food, liquid, gum, you can’t get in with any of it,” said assistant principal Crystal Lopez. “Kids don’t try to get in with anything obvious, like being drunk at the door.”

Because of the rigorous checks the school administers before formal dances, junior Arjun Patil is wary about doing anything wrong.

“I’m not stupid,” Patel said. “I would never do [drugs] at prom.”

Lopez believes it’s just plain recklessness mixed with the undeveloped state of the adolescent brain that drives students to use drugs at formal dances.

“At this age, it’s really hard to understand the weight of the consequences,” Lopez said. “It’s hard to see past the right now.”