In the midst of a long-standing and long-failing “war on drugs,” we have slowly come to realize drugs pervade almost every aspect of life.Maybe I’m naïve — I probably am — but it doesn’t seem like this is how it always was.A couple days ago, I wrote a composition in my Spanish class. My topic: the drug problem (or droga problema) in the United States and how I, as the new Secretary of State, plan to help reduce this issue. That’s right. I’m the new Secretary of State. Run for your lives.And maybe I feel like drugs are pervading everything because I am graduating, and it seems like most companies require some sort of pre-employment drug screening.It makes sense. No company wants to hire someone who might be performing at a lesser capacity than they are capable of, and no company wants to be responsible for work-related injuries. Nonetheless, I’m suddenly having tests mentioned left and right as if I’m some dope fiend getting my fix in the back allies of Baton Rouge.Then there’s television. Aside from all the places you expect to find drugs — the crime shows, things like that — there are the places you don’t: namely, ESPN. Athletes are using drugs left and right while we watch greedily from behind our televisions. And if the other programs on television have it correct, we’re probably sitting behind a huge bong or a tiny crack pipe.And don’t think it stops there.A recent study “found the air in Madrid and Barcelona is also laced with at least five drugs — most prominently cocaine,” according to MSNBC.Of course, cocaine was not the only drug found. No, there were also “trace amounts of amphetamines, opiates, cannabinoids and lysergic acid — a relative of LSD — in two air-quality control stations, one in each city.”So, to recap, we are tested for drugs while applying to jobs, told we are probably doing drugs (along with our sports heroes) on television, and all the while some of the air we might be breathing will be filling our lungs with drugs.And, not to be too graphic or unnecessary, but it turns out if we have a sexual partner who might have a drug interest, we could be filling our veins with substances like cocaine without realizing it.Yes, it turns out cocaine can be transferred through oral sex. Slate Magazine posed the question “Can you really ‘passively ingest’ drugs via cunnilingus?” and quickly answered “Yes.”In fact, “A 1996 paper suggests that chronic users might excrete a peak level of 0.01 milligrams of cocaine per gram of semen after the consumption of a particularly heavy dose,” according to Slate.This isn’t something to worry about really, as the article continues to explain “Since a typical ejaculation contains around two grams of semen, it would take 10,000 precisely timed sexual encounters over that three-month stretch before a nonuser faced any risk of failing a drug test.”Nonetheless, it is interesting and probably mostly unknown.It should be noted that it is possible (while not probable) cocaine could be secreted through sweat during sexual contact and could technically fill arm hair with enough of the drug to test positive.Again, this is not something anyone should necessarily be worried about. The chances are miniscule, and the cases are erratic. And how often will you be sleeping with someone who ingests large amounts of cocaine on a regular basis without your knowledge? Ahh, who knows, maybe that’s more common that my naïve brain will let on to.Hell, if Bret Easton Ellis novels are any indicator, we should probably all hole ourselves up in our homes if we are that scared of drugs.But it is interesting that it’s pretty much impossible to spend a normal day doing normal things and not come into contact with mention of drugs.We fight a war against them yet are constantly reminded of their presence.It’s a commonly known fact that Coca-Cola used to contain trace amounts of cocaine, and it isn’t like cocaine, opium and marijuana are not plants that grow naturally on the Earth’s surface.But it is somewhat ironic that, during a time when drugs are fought both for and against in this weak “war,” their presence seems to sneak their way into every aspect of normal life. In the end, if you like doing drugs, applying for jobs will be pretty difficult. If you don’t like doing drugs, it’ll be pretty easy to avoid usage. Nothing’s really changed.Except for the fact that you won’t stop hearing about them for a long time.At least not if stories like this one continue to be written.But, it’s OK. I’m the new Secretary of State.And there is a Spanish paper out there with all the answers to our war on drugs, just waiting to be discovered by the right American.Hopefully that person is bilingual.Travis Andrews is a 21-year-old  English senior from Metairie.—–Contact Travis Andrews at [email protected]