Over the past 50 years, our society has seen generations of trends, but none of them as glorified or destructive as the use of illegal drugs. The 1960s put marijuana and LSD on the map, the ‘70s followed with cocaine and mushrooms, the ‘80s continued the cocaine epidemic, the ‘90s rang in with ecstasy, and the 2000s saw further abuse of prescription drugs. Throughout the years, Redwood’s teenagers have experienced it all, with heavy alcohol use supplementing their drug binges, and have stories to tell.

The 1960s

“It was primarily the psychedelic experience that people were looking for in the early days,” said Ric Kellen, who graduated in 1968. “We used to routinely smoke pot during break and lunch, and weekends would be party time with pot and alcohol. We would do LSD with some regularity on weekends. Those trips were pretty well planned out, an outdoor setting, either woods or the beach. I went to senior ball on acid, as did a number of my friends.”

During the 1960s, San Francisco became a hub for the drug world and many  students found themselves spending time there.

“Being musicians, we spent a lot of weekend night stoned at the Fillmore or Avalon Ballroom listening to the music that changed the world,” said John Cross, who graduated in 1970.

The 1970s

“I thought we offered the best drugs in the county at Redwood,” said Suzanne Thoelecke, who graduated in 1978. “In my time, it was pot, coke, and acid.”

The Bark published an article that discussed the drug world beyond marijuana, headlining LSD, cocaine, and mushrooms in the Nov. 23, 1977 issue.

According to the article, cocaine hit the scene in the mid-1970s at $80 to $100 per gram.

“It’s a social drug because we eat a nice dinner with wine at someone’s house and afterwards have a good time snorting coke,” an anonymous source in the article said.

According to Bob Ehlers, who graduated in 1980, it was the kids with money that always seemed to be talking about cocaine.

The article said that mushrooms were also big on the scene and  were priced at $5 per gram.

“They have their own taste, a bit like dirt, but if you take one gram you start smiling and laughing. One gram can get the average person spaced out for four hours,” said an anonymous source in the article.

In the article, none of the sources worried about the dangers of the drugs and one source said that the only way you could overdose on cocaine would be to eat it.

However, Ehlers said that mushrooms and LSD came with many dangers.

“One person I knew, a friend from grammar school, took too many hallucinogenics and fried his brain. For a while he thought he was Jesus,” he said.

The 1980s

Cocaine has been called “the drug of the ‘80s,” and Jennifer Stevens, who graduated in 1982, said that many juniors and seniors participated in recreational cocaine use.

Stevens also said that keg parties were  extremely popular.

In the Dec. 1, 1989 issue of the Bark, a survey about drinking showed that 35% of seniors drank every weekend, and 98% believed that if a student drank every weekend, he or she did not have a drinking problem.

“It is common knowledge that there is at least one rager each weekend,” said Sally Austin, a junior in the article. “When we go out, one of the first questions people ask is, ‘Can we drink?’ or ‘Who’s going to buy up?’”

The 1990s

The 1990s began with flashing lights and ecstasy as the rave scene gained popularity.

In the Oct. 2, 1992 issue of the Bark, a feature article ran about the prevalence of raves in teenage culture. The article noted that students were drawn to the raves due to the availability of ecstasy and LSD. An anonymous junior in the article said that she had received free drugs at all of the seven raves she had attended.  

An infamous event of the ‘90s occurred when several students put together a drinking team masked as a non-school sponsored club. The Nov. 1, 1991 issue of the Bark chronicled the antics of this controversial drinking team which was known as RDT (Redwood Drinking Team).

“We finally got sponsored by a liquor store because we were regular customers all summer. We got team hats and jerseys. People all over wanted to join. Soon RDT was out of control,” said an anonymous male in the article.

The members of the drinking team interviewed for the article said that they held practices every day after school and games on the weekends.

“We often drink in the car on the way to school. We have a little side team we call DDT, the Drunk Driving Team. You can’t be sober. We have designated drunk drivers,” said an anonymous male in the article.

In 1995, a Bark survey revealed that 58% of the students had tried marijuana, 22% of the student body had tried acid, and 18% of the student body had tried ecstasy.

The 2000s

A new millennium brought a new form of getting high for teenagers: prescription drugs. The illegal use of over-the-counter drugs has boomed throughout this decade and the most prevalent ones for high school students today include Adderall, Oxycontin, Percocet, Valium, and Vicodin.

In the March 29, 2002 issue of the Bark, a feature article chronicled the use of prescription drugs. The article said that students often take these types of drugs because of the sedative effects they provide and because their effects are easy to conceal.

“They are the perfect drug to take at school because there are no visible symptoms such as smell or red eyes like if you were smoking,” said an anonymous male in the article.

According to the article, the drugs are typically stolen from teenager’s parents or bought from a student who has recently had surgery or an injury.

“When I came back to school after I got my wisdom teeth pulled, a lot of people asked me what the doctor gave me,” said an anonymous male in the article. “Some people that weren’t even friends with me randomly came up to me asking for some. I ended up with only three Vicodin left, so I sold them for ten bucks.”

However, Ric Kellen, a 1968 graduate, said that he thinks drugs are a lot scarier today.

“I think during my era the drugs were a lot more innocent, I mean how bad can smoking a joint be? But now you got some very weird, hard core drugs out there,” he said.