MARIJUANA PROBLEM SET ON BACK BURNER

About 35 Students So Far This School Year Have Been Suspended For Possession
Of Pot

One morning in December, Principal Gilmore Youn appeared on the morning
announcements commenting on the recent rise in student suspensions resulting
from possession of marijuana.

So far this school year, about 35 students have been suspended for
possessing or suspicion of possessing marijuana. The marijuana situation
gets worse every year, and most of the students who are caught are freshmen.
The principal says this is because the older students are more "elusive."

"This tells us that the freshmen came to Kapaa High already having the drug
habit," the principal said in an interview.

Although marijuana is not the biggest problem on campus, it adds to the
biggest problems: attendance and failures. The students ultimately pay the
biggest price. Their grades suffer, and few of the students who are caught
have a high grade-point average.

"Whether you choose to break the law on your own time or not, school is
neither the time nor the place for the use of marijuana," an anonymous staff
member said.

To the students at Kapaa High School, marijuana is a problem not just at
school, but a problem in the community.

However, students on campus do not take the problem seriously or see
marijuana as a dangerous drug.

"When I was 14, I worked as a dishwasher in a hotel in Princeville, and
every night most of the crew would go out and smoke pot and continue
working," an anonymous student said.

Some students believe they can still function after smoking marijuana.

According to the Kauai Police Department, most marijuana arrests have been
of juveniles rather than adults.

Of DUI arrests made in the past year, 5 percent were for being under the
influence of marijuana and no other drug.

The Nov. 4 issue of Time magazine said that nationally there is an
overwhelming tolerance for marijuana use for medical purposes and personal
use in small amounts.

Some 72 percent of people polled felt that people arrested for possessing
small amounts of marijuana should be fined and not jailed, and 80 percent
felt adults should be able to use marijuana legally for medical purposes.

What studies do not say are the long-term effects of marijuana use. Do
smokers who have been using drugs for 10 or more years have functioning
long- and short-term memory? Are they able to function in high-stress,
detail-oriented professions? Do they have problems with responsibility or
motivation? These issues have not been addressed in scientific studies
adequately.

Marijuana is a subtle drug. The superficial issues of whether it should be
legalized for medical purposes or whether it leads to other drug use are not
what is important.

What is important is whether this drug causes detrimental effects in
people's lives.

And marijuana does indeed hurt students' lives when they are caught.

Marijuana may not be the biggest or most important problem on campus, but
the problem does exist.

Parents need to be more involved in the lives of their kids to really make a
difference.

Even if students come to school high on drugs and still can do their work,
they are damaging themselves.

If the parents, school officials or even the students themselves will not
step up to the plate, kids will go on thinking there is nothing wrong with
their habit.

Sidebars:

WARRIOR FACTS:

Address: 4695 Mailihuna Road, Kapaa, HI 96746

Phone number: 808-821-4400

Mission statement: To provide a supportive and nurturing environment where
students are academically prepared for life and citizenship; where the needs
of self are balanced with the needs of others.

Newspaper: The Tradewind

Editor: John Fry

Faculty adviser: Elen Verzosa

Principal: Gilmore Youn

Students: 1,200

Average class size: 27

Faculty and staff: 130

Mascot: Warrior

School colors: Green and white

Fun facts: The school was founded in 1883 by King David Kalakaua. School
uniforms will be used starting next year.

YOU ASKED

What do you think about how special-education students get less suspension
time than regular students for drug-related offenses?

Erik Sears, Senior: "I feel that it is really unfair that people who are in
special-education classes because they don't want to work and are typically
'druggies' can get away with doing something they do normally, when regular
students get twice the punishment."

Vanessa Scotland, Senior: "I see no point; everyone is supposed to be equal.
There shouldn't be exceptions for anyone, even if they have special needs."

Heather Borges, Senior: "It isn't fair that the so called 'special ed'
students have a less serious punishment than students who attend normal
classes. The administration is more lenient on them because their
expectations are lower. I'm saying that they should punish everyone equally,
no matter what type of education they have."

Deidra Spencer, Senior: "Each student in special ed knows what they are
doing and therefore should get the same punishment as a normal-education
child."

Briana Conant, Sophomore: "I feel that it's pretty unfair. You hear the
faculty and staff talk about how we should treat the special-ed students
equally (which we do), and then they go ahead and give them a shorter
suspension than 'normal' kids. I know for a fact that most of the special-ed
students aren't totally mentally challenged, so they should be just as
responsible for their bad actions as regular students should be."

Martin Antonio, Junior: "I think that we should be more equal in our
punishments. Just because they are special means nothing."

Marcus Punzal, Senior: "I think that the special-ed kids should be suspended
for the full 90 days because just because they are special ed doesn't mean
that they don't know the difference between right and wrong in smoking pot."

Trina Gerhart, Junior: "I believe that it is really dumb because everyone
should be treated equally for getting into trouble for a serious thing like
that."