ANY WEAPON IS FAIR IN FIGHTING SPEED IN SCHOOLS

A move by Kaitaia College to introduce compulsory drug tests for students
in the wake of the methamphetamine crisis has got human rights activists
buzzing, but will have a lot of sympathy from the rest of the community,
says The Daily News.

A disturbing escalation in the use of the drug brings with it new horror
stories about the ease of supply and the impact it is having on crime.

The college board of trustees unanimously agreed last week to adopt urine
tests to see if students are taking methamphetamine or its pure form, known
as P.

In doing so, it has spurned an Education Ministry warning that it should
first check the law books.

Methamphetamine, also known as speed, has been linked to several recent
high-profile violent crimes and recently reclassified as a Class A drug as
part of a Government crackdown on its sale.

The law change, rightly, leaves those who manufacture the drug - mostly
from common medicines - facing life sentences.

While use of the drug is not as prevalent as another scourge of the
education system, cannabis, its side-effects are potentially, and almost
inevitably, much more harmful.

P has been blamed for a rash of violence throughout the country.

In Taranaki, it is now being regularly cited in court as an excuse for
crime. This has to be one of the most feeble justifications for violence on
the books.

The side-effects are well known to both users and police. Anyone admitting
to taking methamphetamines should face a heavier, rather than a reduced
sentence.

There is a point where people's right to do what they like has to give way
to the interests of the community.

It is past time to stop mollycoddling law-breakers whose substance abuse
puts others at risk.

A drunk driver who causes death or injury rightly faces time in prison.

So should anyone who attacks and injures another while under the influence
of any drug, and particularly one known to increase aggression.

Society has approved random checks of drivers for alcohol use.

It is not a giant step from there to agree to testing for methamphetamines,
particularly in schools where the potential victims are innocent youngsters
and hard-pressed teachers under growing pressures from a host of other
social ills.

Crimes linked to the drug increased 28% around the country last year and
150 methamphetamine laboratories were found, compared with nine in 2000.

It is getting worse. Kaitaia is sounding a warning to the rest of the country.

Because of the speed with which methamphetamine use has occurred, society
and the legal system are just waking to the magnitude of the problem.

Their focus is rightly on the manufacturers and suppliers, but more has to
be done to scare users away.

That will not occur if we get side-tracked worrying about the human right
to self-destruct.