In 1950, NYC was in the grip of teen drug fever. As shown here, some of those teens ended up in Youth House where they continued their habits. Since Youth House was eventually closed because of multiple scandals, there is no reason to suppose things were any different in 1953 during Oswald's stay there.
The above is from Big Town, Big Time: A New York Epic : 1898-1998 by Jay Maeder, p119