SCHOOL SUSPENDS TEEN FOR DISCUSSING DRUGS

'Just Giving Statistics'

Sask. Student Shared Research With Classmates

Kieran King says he's never seen marijuana, let alone smoked or sold
it. But cannabis has been causing problems for the 15-year-old honour
student lately, ever since a fellow student complained about Kieran
expressing his opinions on pot.

The Grade 10 student, from Wawota, Sask., a town with a population of
616 people two hours from Regina, is now at the centre of a
controversy that pits a student's right to free speech and a push for
open academic debate against the desire of school administrators to
maintain a drug-free message.

Kieran, a student with high marks and plans to spend next year
studying in China, said he began researching facts about marijuana
several months ago to supplement information he received in school.
"That's kind of the person I am," Kieran said in a phone interview. "I
tend to look things up to make sure I'm getting the whole story, the
full story."

Kieran shared the information he found with classmates around the
lunch table, mentioning studies that suggest marijuana kills fewer
people than tobacco or alcohol. He also opined that marijuana use
should be legal in Canada. "I wasn't selling any drugs, I was just
giving out statistics," Kieran said.

One of his fellow students complained to Susan Wilson, the principal
at Wawota Parkland School, who in turn called Keiran's mother on May
29. During the phone conversation, Kieran said he was accused of
"soliciting the sale of drugs to minors and others within the school."

Kieran said Ms. Wilson also threatened to call the police, but a
spokesman for the school yesterday denied that the threat was made.

Don Rempel, the director of education for the South East Cornerstone
school division, said Ms. Wilson was simply informing Kieran of the
possible consequences of using or selling drugs on school property.

"The principal was just indicating that we don't want to promote drug
use within our school and certainly school rules are such that if
there were any drugs brought into the school, the police could be
involved," Mr. Rempel said.

Following the call, Kieran wrote about his experience on an Internet
chat board, drawing the interest of the Saskatchewan Marijuana Party.
Working with the party, Kieran began planning a walkout to protest his
treatment. Selecting Tuesday as a date, he spread word through the
student body. A few flyers were distributed that morning.

Moments before the protest was scheduled to begin, school officials
declared a lockdown and warned any students who left the building
would be punished.

Four students initially defied the lockdown order, but two quickly
returned inside for fear of reprisal. In the end, Kieran and his
brother, Luke, were the only students to participate in the 90-minute
protest. They were joined by a handful of Marijuana Party members
along with a representative of the NDP.

According to Mr. Rempel, the two brothers were suspended on Tuesday
afternoon for disobeying the instructions of school officials.

Mr. Rempel said the lockdown was declared because of the presence of
unfamiliar individuals on school property.

Ethan Erkiletan, a member of the Marijuana Party's executive, argued
the lockdown was a further attempt to stifle Kieran and prevent him
from expressing his point of view.

"We think this particular action has been heavy-handed and
unjustified," Mr. Erkiletan said. "Schools have the understandable
ability to restrict freedom of speech within their walls when it comes
to issue like Holocaust denial, but we think reasonable debate and
freedom of expression should be guaranteed and protected."

Mr. Rempel contends the school board had a duty to enforce certain
codes of conduct. "Public schools are not public places like shopping
malls where students can gather and talk about any issue that they
wish," he said. "We have teachers and principals who have expectations
for student conduct in a safe and orderly climate."

Andrew Lokan, a Toronto-based constitutional lawyer, said the school
board would be hard-pressed to justify its actions.

Mr. Lokan noted many of the arguments made by Kieran have been
presented at the Supreme Court of Canada. "[Kieran] may understand our
Constitution and matters of social policy better than the school
does," Mr. Lokan said.