DRUG SUPPLIERS SET UP STUDENTS

Gerald Flood states that marijuana was the most common drug at Kelvin High
School before nine "dealers" were arrested. But Mr. Flood does not know
what he is talking about. (Mr. Flood has not attended high school for more
than 30 years. He is hardly an authority on what "the most common" drugs of
choice are these days.)

Those of us who actually have kids attending high school know that the most
common drugs today are ecstasy, crystal meth and GHB ( the date rape drug).
The suppliers of these drugs are recruiting our kids to be "dealers," which
allows a direct pipeline into the schools. (Being a dealer is very
lucrative -- why get a legitimate part-time job when you can make more
money, in a shorter amount of time, by "dealing drugs"?)

I agree with Mr. Flood that "putting the drugs on store shelves" would
eliminate the criminal activity, and probably put an end to drug dealing in
schools. But it is hard to believe that the public would support putting
ecstasy, crystal meth and the date rape drug on store shelves. Therefore,
we have to deal with the reality that our kids will obtain these drugs
illegally.

I see the kids who were arrested as victims but not because of the sting,
the handcuffing or the media coverage. These kids were set up to be victims
by their suppliers, who knew they risked arrest and were happy to let them
take that risk. (You can bet that their suppliers will not bail them out
now that they are in trouble). As a parent, my heart goes out to the
parents of these kids; it is a fact that any of our kids could have been
recruited.

Forgotten in all of this are the real victims, the kids who are no longer
attending school at all because they are in hospital trying to recover from
the devastating, long-term effects of a drug (or drugs) that they obtained
at school. (We all seem to have forgotten that ecstasy can kill).

CATHERINE MITCHELL Winnipeg