SCHOOL DRUG SWEEPS COULD SAVE STUDENTS

High school students don't have much to complain about when it comes
to random law enforcement sweeps for drugs and weapons.

There's no place on our campuses for these things, and we support
efforts by the Rutherford County Sheriff's Department to make sure
schools are clean.

Law enforcement officers using K-9s searched Blackman and Oakland high
schools Monday, asking schools to keep all students in classrooms
until the sweep was complete. No illicit items were found at Oakland,
but authorities arrested three students at Blackman on drug charges
after finding marijuana in their cars. Under the school system's
zero-tolerance policy, all three were expelled along with another
student whose car had knives in it.

That may seem like a harsh punishment and we hate to see students get
kicked out of school. But the rules are clear about drugs and weapons
in our schools, and they should be taken seriously, lest we travel
down that slippery slope to the point where kids are coming to school
stoned or selling dope in the parking lot.

During Monday's searches, both schools were placed in a "code yellow"
lockdown while officers and K-9s searched the premises. It must have
been a rather disconcerting feeling to students, but in the long run
it will help them have a better high school experience.

We'd like to see the sheriff's office conduct these sweeps more often
and at all of our high schools. For the sake of equity, none should be
singled out.

Indeed, the sweeps should be taken as a warning to all students that
our schools are to be free of drugs and weapons. They also must
understand that they have no rights to privacy on campus, since the
courts have spoken loud and clear on the subject.

Adults -- including our burned-out hippy friends -- shouldn't dismiss
drugs in high school as mere rebellion or teen mischief, either.

Those who start smoking pot and drinking in their formative years are
far more likely than their sober peers to develop addictions that will
haunt them and loved ones throughout their lives. That is, if they
survive their teens.

Alcoholism and drug dependence not only affect people's health and
their families, they impact society as a whole, through
alcohol-related accidents, criminal activity, heavy court dockets and
crowded jails, which are full of people with addictions.

If we can send a tough message now to teenagers about keeping drugs
and weapons out of schools, maybe we can dissuade them from drinking
and doping on weekends and falling into habits that lead to a life of
abuse and despair.

The sheriff's department and school system should be commended for
working to maintain a drug-free and weapon-free atmosphere where
students can work toward a diploma without these dangerous
distractions.

We hope our high school students get the message.