ALL OF US VICTIMS OF SCHOOL DRUGS

To the editor:

Parker Barss Donham's comments in Just Who are the Victims? (April 2) are
naive and irresponsible. The real victims of the problem of drugs in the
schools are all of us (parents, students, teachers, administrators and the
public). Aside from the myriad of other problems created in our schools and
society by the selling of drugs to children (whether by friends or not),
learning and intoxication do not mix.

I commend the administrators at Dartmouth High for their hard line approach
to the drug trade in the school. There is nothing benign about our children
and students being exposed to the antics of these substance abusers in the
classroom. The "odd joint" at lunch time adversely affects the learning of
these users and their classmates. No one learns when students are "high."

Raeanne Austin-MacDonald
Cole Harbour

LAW CLEAR ON MARIJUANA

To the editor:

I have often read Mr. Parker Barss Donham's Sunday Perspective column with a
sense of amazement and disbelief, but his viewpoint April 2 on the drug
arrests at Dartmouth high school has left me absolutely stunned and
appalled. To portray the school administration, principal Bob Johnston, and
the Halifax Regional Police as the offenders, and the alleged traffickers as
innocent victims is a disgrace, and an insult to the common-sense values of
parents, educators, and most citizens.

Please allow me to first emphatically state that I have no knowledge of the
events at Dartmouth High School other than what I have learned through the
media, and I firmly believe that the accused are innocent until proven
guilty. I agree with Mr. Donham on one point: I suspect that occasional
marijuana use is probably no more harmful than social drinking. However,
this is a moot point.

It is very clear to all, including high school students, that our society
has determined that smoking marijuana is against the law, and selling the
drug is a serious offence.

Whether you personally agree with the law or not, the line has been drawn.
If you look the other way or condone some crimes and not others, you have
taken the first step down the proverbial slippery slope.

Ron Stegen
Dartmouth