DRUG DOG'S NOSE IS THE LAW

The Animal Indicated It Smelled Marijuana On The Teen's Coat, Leading To A
Two-day Suspension.

OTTAWA -- A 15-year-old boy has been kicked out of school for two days on a
drug dog's say so.

Christopher Laurin was suspended because an Ottawa police dog indicated it
smelled marijuana on his ski jacket during a drug search at a St. Matthew
high school in suburban Orleans.

Laurin had no drugs on him.

The school principal says she could not smell marijuana on Laurin's coat,
but the dog's word proved final.

Police and school staff told the student police dogs can smell lingering
marijuana residue on clothing up to three months after the fact.

Laurin's parents are furious.

"How come the school is allowed to punish my son because a drug-sniffing
dog smelled marijuana? He didn't have any drugs on his jacket. He didn't do
anything wrong. What if he had left his coat in someone's car, and that
person had a joint?" asked Michel Laurin, Chris's father.

"I know they're trying to do the right thing, but suspension for a coat? he
said. "I don't believe the implications this could have."

Just after 9 a.m. Laurin's Grade 10 teacher told the class the school was
in a lockdown, a situation where police officers, at the request of the
school, would search the premises for weapons or drugs. The boy had been
through two or three lockdowns last year.

A few minutes later, the principal knocked on the door. There was a police
officer and a German shepherd police dog standing behind him. Students were
told to leave the classroom and line up against lockers in the hallway. The
police officer and the dog went in and shortly after they came out holding
Laurin's ski jacket.

The student was taken to the principal's office, where he was told to empty
the pockets of his coat. Then the principal searched the jacket. She found
$ * -- and no drugs.

Laurin was asked why his coat smelled like marijuana, and who he hung out
with who smoked marijuana. They asked him if he had anything illegal in his
locker, and he said no. They searched his lunch bag, his school bag and
took everything out of the locker. No drugs.

They walked him back to the office, and told him to go home.

"I don't get it. Why am I being suspended? I can't smell it, no one else
can, but the dog somehow picked up a trace of it," the student said. "It's
not like I went there reeking of pot. Did I have drugs on me? No. I didn't
even have anything associated with drugs on me.

"It's not that I'm angry at the school, but I didn't break any rules, so I
don't think I should be suspended."

His father said the school told him "it's school policy."

James McCracken, deputy director of education for the Ottawa-Carleton
Catholic school board, said the lockdowns are part of the safe schools policy.

"This is a preventative measure," he said. "We're very interested in not
having illegal substances at schools."