Pubdate: Fri, 30 Aug 2002
Source: Daily Herald (IL)
Copyright: 2002 The Daily Herald Company
Contact:  http://www.dailyherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/107
Author: Meg Maenpaa

POLICIES DON'T MAKE ANY SCHOOL DRUG-FREE

On Page 8 of the Aug. 26 Health and Fitness section, there was a short 
article with the misleading headline, "Most teens say their schools are 
drug-free."

Not until the second paragraph does the article reveal that there is an 
increase in the number of schools with a specific no-drugs- permitted 
policy. While it might attract the reader's eye, I think the headline did 
not properly summarize the content of the article.

A no-drug policy is not the same thing as drug-free. In this day and age, I 
don't think any school is drug-free. Some might have more or less of a 
problem, but all schools have one, whether they admit it or not.

Twenty-five years ago, there were drugs in my high school in Wheaton. There 
was no "drug-free" policy, but we all knew drugs were not allowed in 
school. Just because a school has a drug-free policy does not mean we can 
play ostrich, bury our heads in the sand and pretend that drugs are not 
being used and abused by our children.

I am not sure that knowing 630 out of 1,000 students said their schools 
have a drug-free policy gives us much useful information at all. The other 
370 students' schools would most certainly take action when drugs were 
found on their premises. Especially with misleading headlines, the reader 
needs to discern what the article is really saying.

Meg Maenpaa

Carpentersville
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MAP posted-by: Beth