COP GIVES KIDS THE STRAIGHT DOPE ON DRUGS

Kids get hooked on Const. Doug Green's drug talks in part because he
tells it like it is and doesn't lecture them.

The former canine unit member is retiring in a couple of weeks after
25 years with the EPS. The last two years were spent running a drug
awareness pilot project at Edmonton schools.

With his drug dog Ebony in tow, Green estimates he's given talks to
about 50,000 kids who are in high school or junior high. The program
is called Dogs for Drug-Free Schools.

"Kids will still try drugs, but we invoke discussion in classrooms,
kitchens and amongst peers," Green said.

"With discussion and information comes change," said the 47-year-old
cop, who is a school resource officer at Harry Ainlay composite high school.

"We just say, 'Here are your choices. Here are the consequences. Make
decisions you can live with where you aren't going to hurt yourself
or others.' "

Green pitches the notion that any drug used to excess - including
tobacco and alcohol - is bad for people's health and interferes with
getting a vital high school education.

Realizing that kids will always experiment with various substances,
Green keys in on trying to keep drugs out of schools and convincing
kids that using them during classroom hours only cheats themselves.

"The key is educating kids about drugs. For 100 years we've tried to
stem the supply of drugs and it hasn't worked."

He tries to get through to kids in his presentations by getting them
to think. "I ask if they can name one kid who smokes a lot of weed
and succeeds at school and they can't."

He also points out that drugs could lead to a criminal record,
something that could halt your international travel and jeopardize
your odds of getting a good job.

Green figures the real star of his show is his Labrador drug dog
Ebony who holds the kids' attention while the cop gives them the
straight dope on drugs. Ebony joins in the show by demonstrating how
easy it is for her to sniff out drugs that are hidden in anything
from backpacks to ghetto blasters.

Green has never been keen on using a heavy hand on kids. He says that
in three years he's only charged one kid after the youth was nabbed
with dope for the fifth time.

In most cases, kids caught with drugs have their parents or guardians
called to the school. The students often get suspensions and/or some
form of community work.

Green is surprised that many kids don't even realize it's illegal to
possess pot, in part because the former Liberal government was about
to decriminalize it. "A lot of kids wrongly think it's legal to
possess up to 30 grams of pot."

Green doesn't differentiate between drugs. He figures abusing any is
bad - but he does key in somewhat on methamphetamine (crystal meth)
and ecstasy.

Crystal meth caused 23 deaths in Alberta last year, compared to just
four in 1999.

Green notes there have also been fairly recent cases of two young
Canadian teens dying after taking ecstasy.

For Green, there's no better approach than trying to battle drugs
before they become a problem in someone's life.

"How many meth task forces do we have on the go in this country and
what have we accomplished?"

Treatment centres get the big bucks, and educational programs get
little, Green noted.

"The focus seems to be at the back end of the problem rather than at
the front end, which is prevention."

Green figures both school boards will continue the drug program
without him or Ebony - a dog he personally trained, who is also retiring.

Any new duo will start fresh.

School officials are now writing letters to the chief of police
urging that the program continue.

How does Green know his drug message got through?

"They clap at the end of the presentation and mean it."

Another sign?

School kids have flooded him with greeting cards in the days before
his June 29 retirement.