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
Bel Air, MD