LET KIDS LEARN IN PEACE

To the Editor,

As a recent graduate of Brown University, and a resident of Rhode
Island for four years, I am very angry to see that a high school in
the state has chosen to utilize drug dog searches. I was particularly
upset to read in your article that a student was suspended based on
evidence that would never stand up in court - the alleged scent of
marijuana found by a barking dog.

These searches will not serve as a deterrent from use in general.
Instead, students will continue to do what they will, away from
school. In the meantime, the school has indicated that it is more
interested in punishing students harshly and "sending a message" than
providing students with their legal right to an education. If
administrators really want to reduce the actual harms involved with
drug use, they should consider a far better use of funds and school
time: reality-based drug education, such as Safety First
(www.safetyfirst.org).

Police-state tactics involving "lock-downs" and drug-dogs are tools
better saved to fight violent crime and terrorism. Leave the kids
alone and let them learn in peace!

Benjamin Kintisch

President Emeritus, Brown University Students for Sensible Drug Policy