ZERO TOLERANCE GREATER THREAT THAN DRUGS

The Chetek City Council won't be doing students or parents any favors
if it purchases a police K-9 unit for drug sweeps in local schools.
These days zero tolerance poses a greater threat to students than
drugs. According to the Monitoring the Future survey, over half of
all high school seniors have tried an illicit drug. Denying a
majority of the nation's youth an education and the chance to grow up
to become productive members of society is not in America's best interest.

Most students outgrow their youthful indiscretions involving drugs.
An arrest and criminal record, on the other hand, can be
life-shattering. The short-term health effects of marijuana are
inconsequential compared to the long-term effects of criminal
records. Drug abuse is bad, but the drug war is worse.

Robert Sharpe, policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy, Washington, D.C.