AITKEN'S DECISIVE ACTION

Macdonald High School principal Jim Aitken is to be commended for his
strong stance against drugs in his Ste. Anne de Bellevue school.

Too often, educators are more than happy to pretend that teenagers at their
school or in their school board are not abusing drugs, but most evidence
we've seen says that drug use is becoming more and more pervasive.

Parents, educators and administrators can no longer thrust their heads in
the sand and pretend there's nothing going on.

The recent ecstasy-related death of a 13-year-old girl in Hudson, and the
subsequent charges laid against the 16-year-old who allegedly supplied it
to her -- along with the arrests of five students at Macdonald High School
Monday afternoon in connection with marijuana- and ecstasy-distribution at
the school -- are a couple of clear indications that teenagers are dabbling
more and more in the dangerous world of illegal drugs.

Four of the Mac teens were later released, but it's an unsettling notion,
to say the least.

That's why we have to tip our hat to Aitken, who didn't try to hide the
problem. After the bust, he sent a letter home for parents letting them
know what went down Monday and why the school planned this course of
action. Rather, Aitken said, the arrests are only the beginning of a
full-scale war on drugs at the venerable Ste. Anne institution.

The Lester B. Pearson School Board has a zero-tolerance drug policy, but
too often, the policy reflects Pearson's tolerance for discussing drug use
among the board's youngsters. Anecdotal evidence exists that drugs are
becoming and ever-increasing issue for kids at high schools, with the
advent and ease of obtaining ecstasy, methamphetamines and other hard
drugs. They're too easy to get, and too easy to use -- and too often,
educators see their student bodies through rose-coloured glasses and are
too nervous about negative implications that they are loath to admit there
is a drug problem at their schools.

Aitken's actions are a breath of fresh air, and his public, principled
stance against drugs can give Macdonald High parents a little peace of mind.

We're calling on all principals and police departments to work together at
other schools -- like they did at Macdonald High Monday -- and send a
message to students and dealers that drugs simply won't be permitted on
school grounds, around school grounds or within shouting distance of
schools. A few arrests and more enforcement will go a long way toward
actually cementing the Pearson board's 'zero-tolerance policy,' which, for
a long time, wasn't worth the paper it was written on. Adolescence is a
very tricky time for teenagers, and science has proven their brains haven't
fully formed yet, even by the end of high school.

So, let's crack down a little bit more, and we'll have a chance at saving
some of those young minds from the ravages of illegal drugs.