ALTERNATIVE TO DRUG TIP-LINE

In the February 3 of the Aegis, were two letters protesting an Aegis January
21 front-page article headlined "1-888-to help bust your friends" as an
unappreciated attempt at humor. But the tragic truth hinted at by the humor
is apparent to me and viewpoints different from those of the proponents for
our present drug policy need to be heard.

In middle and high school, students bond into bands with some students
moving more-or-less freely from one band to at least one other band. Social
interaction promotes appreciation and understanding of other students. On
the other hand, isolated students can foment tragedies, as occurred at a
school where a student shot and killed fellow students.

The use of the reward tip-line will encourage more secrecy. More restricted
communications will increase isolation of bands and their individual
members, possibly increasing drug use. Non-using students must avoid being
setup by budding entrepreneurs or enemies for the $1000 reward. The world
becomes a more hard-edged nasty place to live in.

At the same time such implicit prohibitions can increase the allure of the
forbidden fruit for some of the most skeptical and adventurous of our
youth. Do we want to misdirect the flower of our youth?

If one of our children is arrested, the chances of being jailed with violent
adult offenders are rising with "get tough" legislation that has been
approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee. A child is eight times more
likely to commit suicide in an adult jail than in a juvenile detention
center.

What should we do then? Decriminalize drugs thereby destroying the thriving
black market where our underage youth are procuring drugs mixed even with
cement. Marijuana is sometimes sprayed with harmful weed-killers supplied
by our government. But decriminalization will not occur for several years,
not until people discover that to win the war on drugs America would need to
become one of the evil empires that we have decried.

Meanwhile and even after decriminalization of drugs arrives, the family,
community, and the schools must instill hope, meaning, and a purpose to our
children's lives. We must also demand that they behave in a civil
respectful manner to both their elders and their peers. For us to do
otherwise would constitute neglect. The present drug policy is not only a
cornerstone in the edifice of our neglect but also forms a wedge between the
young and the old.

We can give them a real world that is more attractive than the virtual world
offered by heavy use of drugs and alcohol.

Sincerely,Kevin Fansler