Warning: Euphoria season two spoilers below.
The Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, also known as D.A.R.E, released a statement when season two of Euphoria premiered in January 2022. The organization wrote that Euphoria “chooses to misguidedly glorify and erroneously depict high school student drug use addiction … and other destructive behaviors as common in today’s world.”
Let’s talk about why that’s inaccurate, and break down specific scenes that show the reality of addiction in high school.
The Jolly Rancher
Withdrawal. Shakiness. Anxiety. Vomiting. Delirium. Nothing glamorous there. When Rue starts her journey to sobriety, Euphoria lets the audience see the devastating impact addiction has on a young body. Her mother has to bathe her. She can’t make it through the day without collapsing on the floor in pain.
Withdrawal is real and ugly. Episode 6 starts with Rue trying to open a Jolly Rancher. Her hands shake, she drops the candy and ends up bursting into tears. The lingering scene makes the audience feel Rue’s frustration. It takes until the end of the episode for her to successfully eat the candy. It’s only after she faces the reality that she is an addict, that she eats the candy and jumps headfirst into sobriety.
The Money Problem
Among the more heartbreaking scenes this season, the jump-cut between Rue and Gia falling asleep and their mother begging the hospital to save Rue is devastating. The rehabilitation hospitals are full and Rue’s mom can’t front the bill to secure an inpatient room. Leslie sobs on the phone with the doctor, “My daughter is going to kill herself!” As she screams into the receiver, the sad reality sets in. Without money, Rue is on her own. She’s not sick enough for a hospital to take her.
High schoolers can’t take care of themselves. They aren’t legal adults and their minds are still growing. Rue’s addiction hurts her mother and her sister just like it takes a toll on her body. At the end of the season, Leslie tells Rue that she’s given up on her being sober and that she’s going to focus on her sister. Rue needs to fight for her own health all alone.
The Family Genes
Scientists from The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimate that genetic factors account for 40-60% of a person’s vulnerability to addiction. A fan favorite, Suze, was like Rue’s second mother growing up. She’s a boisterous brunette, never without a full wine glass and stuck in her golden days. Suze has great one-liners and, from a watcher’s perspective, seems like a solid mother.
But Suze gives our main cast alcohol and encourages drug use for fun throughout the show.
Her daughters might not suffer personally from substance abuse, but Rue grew up watching Suze cope with divorce and hardship using booze. This influence from her childhood, combined with a genetic predisposition to addiction, sets Rue up for a battle.
Addiction costs money, relationships and your body. Euphoria illustrates that in its raw depiction of Rue’s struggle. NIDA reported that 47% of teens will have used an illicit substance by the time they graduate from high school, and an estimated 863,000 high schoolers need substance abuse or addiction treatment but do not receive it.
When D.A.R.E. pushes the false narrative that drug use is not common, this does a disservice to teens that need empathy and help, not added stigma.