Pubdate: Fri, 13 May 2005
Source: East Valley Tribune (AZ)
Copyright: 2005 East Valley Tribune.
Contact:  http://www.eastvalleytribune.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2708
Author: Paul Giblin, Tribune Columnist
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

DRUG DOGS IN SCHOOLS JUST ANOTHER STUNT

It's been nine months since Sheriff Joe Arpaio proclaimed his office
had busted a heroin ring operating within the Scottsdale school district.

It's been two months since details of the so-called investigation
became public, and the entire episode appears to have dissolved into
just another of Arpaio's publicity stunts.

However, convincing evidence suggests the sheriff actually might be
onto something here.

The evidence: The majority of the Scottsdale Unified School District
governing board members listened to Arpaio's hype and voted Tuesday to
allow drug-sniffing dogs to patrol high schools in the fall.

No clear-minded person could have made that decision. They must have
been on something.

Board member Molly Holzer said, "I'm excited to try this because it
does send a strong message."

Oh, it sends a strong message all right. It sends a message that we
should forget about putting drug-sniffing dogs in schools. We should
put them where they're needed. We should put them in the board room.

Outside of the board room, there's a complete lack of probable cause
that would justify such an intrusion of students' civil liberties.

Here's a quick recap of Arpaio's purported heroin investigation:
Detectives turned up 164 "investigative leads." Many of the leads were
so flimsy Arpaio couldn't determine people's complete names or what
drugs they might have used. Nonetheless, among all the leads, 35 were
believed to be Scottsdale students. Of those, three were believed to
have used heroin.

That's not exactly an epidemic considering Scottsdale's five high
schools have a total of 8,300 students.

To be precise, Arpaio's high-profile investigation exposed 0.04
percent of the student body as heroin users -- if Arpaio's numbers are
to be believed at all.

In contrast, 1.7 percent of 12th-graders nationwide are thought to
have used heroin at least once in their lives, according to a 2002
study by the president's Office of National Drug Control Policy.

By those measures, Scottsdale schools are remarkably heroin
free.

Those details were lost on four of the five school board members
though.

They gleefully signed into The Cult of Arpaio, a collection of dupes
who are convinced his stunts serve any other purpose than to feed his
own addiction to attention.

Board member Eric Meyer cast the lone dissenting vote, because he
didn't see the measure as a deterrent. He grasped the idea that drug
users can stash their dope in their cars rather than in their school
lockers, making dog patrols useless.

Membership in The Cult of Arpaio doesn't require any clear thinking,
though. Simply believe the hype. Bring on the dogs. Bring on the TV
cameras. Bring on the headlines. 
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