SCHOOL ON DRUGS ALERT

17-year-old Faces Charges. High-school Principal Calls In Police -
'everyone Is On Their Toes Now'

A 17-year-old boy from Macdonald High School is facing charges after
he was found distributing drugs among students at the Ste. Anne de
Bellevue school.

The police bust at the school last week was in response to concerns by
principal James Aitken that drug dealing was going on and he wanted to
show students that there is zero tolerance for illegal substances on
school property.

What's more, he said, the bust isn't a one-shot deal and the school
plans to follow it up. "Everyone is on their toes now," Aitken said.
"This has definitely had an impact."

The bust involved police handcuffing a number of students and taking
them into the office. In the end, only one student - a Grade 10 boy -
was charged with drug possession with intent to traffic.

When he was stopped on Maple St. near the school he had six pills,
which officers believed to be ecstasy, six grams of marijuana, a
switchblade and a scale. Police obtained a warrant to search his
locker and found another 39 grams of marijuana, said Chantal Morneau,
a community relations officer for Station 1.

Aitken said the school's governing board approved police intervention
when he explained the seriousness of the situation.

The risks of having children dabble in drugs became all too apparent
recently when a 13-year-old girl from Rigaud died after using ecstasy.
The 16-year-old Hudson boy who gave the girl ecstasy before she died
last month has pleaded guilty to most of the charges filed against
him.

Aitken said reaction from parents has been mainly positive. "It was
very traumatic for the kids but I think it was worthwhile," he said.

One parent said he thought the school was "clean" after a public drug
bust in 2001 that involved a boy and his mother. Police at that time
were startled to discover that the ringleader of a drug-dealing
operation at the school was being supplied marijuana by his mother.

That undercover police operation resulted in the arrest of eight
students and two adults for drug possession and trafficking.

Although not all of the students involved in the operation at the
school last week were arrested, Aitken said there will be serious
consequences for any students who were implicated.

"We've had good co-operation from the school," Morneau said. "This is
a good message to kids that drugs are not tolerated."