Pubdate: Fri, 25 Jan 2013
Source: Telegram, The (CN NF)
Copyright: 2013 The Telegram
Contact:  http://www.thetelegram.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/303
Author: Brian Jones

COPS IN SCHOOLS WON'T SOLVE DRUG PROBLEMS

A while ago, Younger Boy informed us that there is a drug problem at
his school.

This, in a junior high.

"What!" I said. "Are you having problems getting drugs?"

We had a good laugh, and then the discussion turned
serious.

I repeated what we've told the boys many times before, that when
someone asks if they want to buy drugs, the proper response is, "No
thanks."

The president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of School
Councils wants police officers to have more involvement and presence
in schools. As a parent, I say, no thanks.

Thievery, bullying and violence should be, and can be, dealt with by
teachers and principals. If they ever need to call in the cops, so be
it.

But having police officers regularly patrolling the hallways will send
the wrong message to students - that teachers and principals don't,
and can't, control the school.

When we send our kids to school, we entrust their care and safety to
teachers and principals. If schools need help from cops to do that,
there is something seriously wrong with the education system, and
thank you very much for not bringing up the irrelevant example of the
occasional school shooting in the U.S.

Facing facts

As for drugs, the issue is far more serious than some skeet dealing
out of his (or her) locker.

Police officers have been to the school as part of the Drug Abuse
Resistance Education (DARE) program. That's fine, as far as it goes.
But there's a built-in bias, and it's highly doubtful the police
officers give students both sides of the story.

Younger Boy asked me, "Why do some people do drugs?"

He meant everybody, adults included, not just teenagers.

"Because it makes them feel good," I said.

I wonder if the DARE officers have ever dared to tell students
that.

Of course drugs make people feel good. Thus the term
"high."

Thus the sale of billions of bottles of booze.

Thus the massive illegal drug trade.

But why, he wanted to know, do some people become addicted and use
drugs all the time?

"Because they're bored with life," I told him.

(If you can, try to imagine something more boring than listening to a
bunch of stoners talk about getting stoned.)

Stressing safety

Almost everything about the drug issue is backwards. It is an accepted
truism that drug use leads to ruined lives.

On the contrary, it is bored, disinterested, ruined lives that lead to
drug abuse. There's a vast difference.

The essential fact about drugs is their illegality. But our primary
concern should be safety.

Never mind the moralizing, the preaching and the ongoing prohibition.
If we really want to keep our kids safe, we should legalize drugs. And
not just marijuana, but the whole shooting match, if you'll pardon the
pun. Legalization would also have the happy coincidence of decimating
the violent organized criminals and gangs who haul in bank-like
profits from the drug trade.

Granted, illegal drugs can be dangerous. But again, the law has it
backwards. They're not illegal because they're dangerous. They're
dangerous largely because they're illegal.

The next time you see cops in the news boasting about a 20-pound bust,
ask yourself: would that hemp be hazardous if you had grown it in your
garden? No. It's dangerous because, as news reports remind us, dealers
lace their products with chemicals to add to their potency. There are
flickers of sanity. The residents of several states in the U.S.
recently voted to legalize marijuana.

I look forward to someday having this conversation: "Dad, I'm going to
the liquor store to buy a couple of joints." "Oh no you're not."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jo-D