Comments on: Solo attempt at battling drugs http://drugeducationforum.wordpress.com/2008/07/01/solo-attempt-at-battling-drugs/ News and views from the Drug Education Forum Mon, 07 Dec 2009 09:52:46 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Blair Anderson http://drugeducationforum.wordpress.com/2008/07/01/solo-attempt-at-battling-drugs/#comment-12102 Blair Anderson Thu, 03 Jul 2008 01:35:25 +0000 http://drugeducationforum.wordpress.com/2008/07/01/solo-attempt-at-battling-drugs/#comment-12102 Dogs in schools brings dogs into disrepute. There is legitimate reason to have grave concerns regarding this practice. Where every note in circulation carries residues of cocaine and cannabis is so widely available even to adults it is all to easy to detect in almost any scenario especially at the near molecular trace levels a well trained dog can detect either of these or other substances. This leads to false positives where the consequences, especially amongst peers, let alone determined authority eager to justify its 'protectionist' role. This is a dangerous social practice in which the unintended harms are rarely quantified. It portrays 'students' as being under suspicion where there should be none, and sends the message to youth that "all their peers are doing it" when this is a false and misleading impression. Of course, authority is reluctant to acknowledge that they are [ever] part of the problem. I applaud the insight given the comment "how they will handle the pastoral and press issues should a positive identification be found" - this is a very valid concern, made all the more crucial in the case of false positive. I recommend anyone who shares these concerns to visit the website that covers drug education and youth and the booklet available there written by Prof. Rodney Skager "Beyond Zero Tolerance" for a Safety First approach to education and drugs. http://www.beyondzerotolerance.com Blair Anderson, Director Educators For Sensible Drug Policy, http://www.efsdp.org Dogs in schools brings dogs into disrepute. There is legitimate reason to have grave concerns regarding this practice. Where every note in circulation carries residues of cocaine and cannabis is so widely available even to adults it is all to easy to detect in almost any scenario especially at the near molecular trace levels a well trained dog can detect either of these or other substances. This leads to false positives where the consequences, especially amongst peers, let alone determined authority eager to justify its ‘protectionist’ role. This is a dangerous social practice in which the unintended harms are rarely quantified. It portrays ’students’ as being under suspicion where there should be none, and sends the message to youth that “all their peers are doing it” when this is a false and misleading impression. Of course, authority is reluctant to acknowledge that they are [ever] part of the problem.

I applaud the insight given the comment “how they will handle the pastoral and press issues should a positive identification be found” – this is a very valid concern, made all the more crucial in the case of false positive.

I recommend anyone who shares these concerns to visit the website that covers drug education and youth and the booklet available there written by Prof. Rodney Skager “Beyond Zero Tolerance” for a Safety First approach to education and drugs. http://www.beyondzerotolerance.com

Blair Anderson, Director
Educators For Sensible Drug Policy,
http://www.efsdp.org

]]> By: jsknow http://drugeducationforum.wordpress.com/2008/07/01/solo-attempt-at-battling-drugs/#comment-12096 jsknow Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:20:06 +0000 http://drugeducationforum.wordpress.com/2008/07/01/solo-attempt-at-battling-drugs/#comment-12096 This is nothing more than an attempt to desensitize students, get them use to being controlled by the government and employ yet another useless scare tactic. It will not help reduce drug use or addiction. The only effective methods of dealing with drugs include honest accurate drug information for all, regulated adult use instead of prohibition and medical treatment for those with addictions. Do you want to really decrease drug use or put on a dog show? It's time to remove all the politicians that promote prohibition. How many more lives have to be needlessly devastated or lost? Prohibited drugs are way easier for kids to get than regulated drugs! Prohibition never works it just causes crime and violence. The USA spends $69 billion a year on the drug war, builds 900 new prison beds and hires 150 more correction officers every two weeks, arrests someone on a drug charge every 17 seconds, jails more people than any nation and has killed over 100,000 citizens in the drug war. In 1914 when there were no prohibited drugs 1.3% of our population was addicted to drugs, today 1.3% of our population is still addicted to drugs but there’s way more crime and violence because of the huge profits prohibition generates. Drugs today are more potent, more readily available and less expensive than they were in the early 70’s when Richard Nixon started the war on drugs. Every time you look at the news you see more and more drug busts involving bigger and bigger quantities of drugs, not less and less... doesn't that call for change? “Jury Nullification”, learn more here: http://fija.org If you are called for jury duty and you don’t agree with the law the person is charged with, you have the right to vote not guilty, no matter what evidence is produced. Jurors implementing this right in all non-violent drug cases will shut down the ridiculous laws of prohibition. One juror in each case is all it takes. The bottom line is a juror has the right to judge not only the accused person but the law the person is accused of breaking. Don’t be intimidated stick to your position. There’s only been one drug success story in history, tobacco, by far the most deadly and one of the most addictive drugs. Almost half the users quit because of regulation, accurate information and medical treatment. No one went to jail and no one got killed. The right; to freedom of religion, free speech, a free press, to keep and bear arms, to be secure in your person, house, papers and effects against unreasonable search and seizure, to life, liberty and property, to be protected from having your property taken by the government without due process of law and without just compensation, to confront the witnesses against you, to be protected from excessive bail, excessive fines, cruel and unusual punishment, to vote and many others have been denied to millions of Americans in the name of the drug war. Take action. Join the email list, Watch the videos: Internet explorer: http://jsknow.angelfire.com/home Other browsers: http://jsknow.angelfire.com/index.html This is nothing more than an attempt to desensitize students, get them use to being controlled by the government and employ yet another useless scare tactic. It will not help reduce drug use or addiction. The only effective methods of dealing with drugs include honest accurate drug information for all, regulated adult use instead of prohibition and medical treatment for those with addictions. Do you want to really decrease drug use or put on a dog show?

It’s time to remove all the politicians that promote prohibition.
How many more lives have to be needlessly devastated or lost?
Prohibited drugs are way easier for kids to get than regulated drugs!
Prohibition never works it just causes crime and violence.

The USA spends $69 billion a year on the drug war, builds 900 new prison beds and hires 150 more correction officers every two weeks, arrests someone on a drug charge every 17 seconds, jails more people than any nation and has killed over 100,000 citizens in the drug war.

In 1914 when there were no prohibited drugs 1.3% of our population was addicted to drugs, today 1.3% of our population is still addicted to drugs but there’s way more crime and violence because of the huge profits prohibition generates. Drugs today are more potent, more readily available and less expensive than they were in the early 70’s when Richard Nixon started the war on drugs. Every time you look at the news you see more and more drug busts involving bigger and bigger quantities of drugs, not less and less… doesn’t that call for change?

“Jury Nullification”, learn more here: http://fija.org If you are called for jury duty and you don’t agree with the law the person is charged with, you have the right to vote not guilty, no matter what evidence is produced. Jurors implementing this right in all non-violent drug cases will shut down the ridiculous laws of prohibition. One juror in each case is all it takes. The bottom line is a juror has the right to judge not only the accused person but the law the person is accused of breaking. Don’t be intimidated stick to your position.

There’s only been one drug success story in history, tobacco, by far the most deadly and one of the most addictive drugs. Almost half the users quit because of regulation, accurate information and medical treatment. No one went to jail and no one got killed.

The right; to freedom of religion, free speech, a free press, to keep and bear arms, to be secure in your person, house, papers and effects against unreasonable search and seizure, to life, liberty and property, to be protected from having your property taken by the government without due process of law and without just compensation, to confront the witnesses against you, to be protected from excessive bail, excessive fines, cruel and unusual punishment, to vote and many others have been denied to millions of Americans in the name of the drug war.

Take action. Join the email list, Watch the videos:
Internet explorer: http://jsknow.angelfire.com/home
Other browsers: http://jsknow.angelfire.com/index.html

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