On a bitterly cold Wednesday in March, the third-period ritual begins outside Norwood High. At The Pines—a small, tree-covered traffic island nestled among quiet, upper-middle-class homes—groups of students gather. They pass marijuana cigarettes casually, confidently. For many, this is a daily routine.
One girl jokes to her friends: “Say this is from Norwood High. Say, ‘No hope without dope.’” They laugh and head back to class, careful not to be late. Detention isn’t part of the plan. They know how to play the game.
Inside, a senior reflects on his grades. “I’m trying not to get high in school anymore,” he says. “I got four 50s last term. I’ve got to get back on the ball.” He watches students pass by, scanning for familiar faces, then shares a story about a peer arrested with 20 joints. “He tried eating them before the cops came up. They just grabbed him and took him off.”
Asked if he’s afraid of getting caught, he shakes his head. “Nah.”
A recent federal survey by the National Institute on Drug Abuse finds that 53.5% of high school seniors in the Northeast have used marijuana, and 84.8% have consumed alcohol. The numbers reflect a generational shift in behavior and perception.
State Education Commissioner Gregory Anrig calls for a “change of attitude in kids and a change in the environment.” Medford High’s headmaster William McCormack believes drug use at his school is low, saying, “I think I have a pretty good barometer of what’s moving daily.” Edward Cass, a regional director with the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration, cautions that students’ perceptions of the drug problem aren’t always accurate. Charlotte Ryan, president of the Massachusetts Parent Teachers-Student Association, frames the issue as part of a larger concern: “Helping kids grow up in control of themselves.”
Back at Norwood High, students walk table to table in the lunchroom asking, “Anybody here not get high?” At the fourth table, a red-haired girl with large blue-framed glasses nods. “I never got high,” she says. “I’m definitely a minority. I don’t want to do anything that’s going to hurt my body.”
📎 Source: Boston Globe, March 1978
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