SCHOOL DRUG BUST

St. Paul's Handling of a Serious Problem Should Be a Model

While the recent arrest of a St. Paul's student for dealing a dangerous
drug to a group of his fellow students was frightening, the school's
response to the situation offers a heartening lesson in how such matters
should be handled.

The drug involved, gamma hydroxybutyric acid, also known as GHB or "Liquid
Ecstasy," is a new member of the constantly changing "designer drug"
pharmacopoeia. These drugs, many cooked up in clandestine labs using little
more than kitchen chemistry, have become popular at clubs and dance halls
catering to teenagers. Some are so new that they present challenges to
emergency room physicians who must diagnose what ails a convulsive or
comatose young experimenter. Many are too new for authorities to have a
good handle on how widespread their use has become.

Nationally, however, GHB has been a factor in 71 deaths and thousands of
emergency room visits, including one by a St. Paul's student. The drug is
yet another mind-addling, trendy killer, one that comes in a few drops and
is easy to conceal. Rumors swirled in the wake of the student's emergency
room visit: three dead, 100 suspended. The truth, however, was far
different. No deaths or injuries, 11 students on probation and one
expulsion, that of the alleged dealer, who faces criminal charges.

Not so many years ago, we suspect, no charges would have been filed. The
matter would have been kept quiet. The student, who might be a dealer or
simply the member of the group who volunteered to act as buyer, would have
been asked to leave.

Today, laws and societal attitudes toward the use of illegal substances
have changed. The need for candor about this destructive problem has become
clear.

The state's law establishing drug-free zones around schools now also
requires educational institutions, whether public or private, to notify the
police when illegal substances are found.

As it has done with the problem of drunken driving, the cumulative effect
of these efforts seems to be slowly changing the culture. Drug use,
although unfortunately still common, appears to have become a bit less
enticing and less excusable. This is what St. Paul's did once the school
learned of the student's overdose.

- - Called the police.

- - Placed the pupils who purchased the drug on a probation that requires
them to submit to random drug testing as a condition of remaining at the
preparatory school. They are also required to participate in a drug
counseling program.

"We are a school that believes in second chances," said Douglas Dickson,
St. Paul's dean of students, who nonetheless drew the line at retaining
someone charged with dealing drugs.

- - Held a school assembly to discuss the problem.

- - Sent letters to parents and designated alumni of each of St. Paul's forms
(classes). The letters explained the situation and the school's response to it.

- - Invited Monitor education reporter Keith Meatto to the school and gave
him the information necessary to provide the community an accurate
portrayal of what had occurred.

Because St. Paul's chose to handle what is always an embarrassing situation
for an educational institution so candidly, everyone in the region, and no
doubt beyond it, had the benefit of learning from its experience. One of
Dickson's statements to Meatto reflected the attitude all parents and
educators should take. "Do we have a drug problem? I think if we have
anybody using drugs, it's a problem," he said.

Confronted with that problem, St. Paul's wisely chose to address it
swiftly, firmly and humanely.