LTE: Education, Drugs and Mob Politics.

Letter to the Editor,

Nanaimo News Bulletin,

British Columbia,

Canada

January 10, 2005

Dear Sir, Madam

Education, Drugs and Mob Politics.

Writer, Tom Bishop [Enforcement, education needed, NNB, Jan 8] infers successful outcomes from school drug testing. If evidence is the basis for this invasive practice then both Police, Schools and community are dreaming. Mr. Bishop commences to ask the right questions “What subject or situation have their policies failed?”, but defensively launches a straw man attack on Russell Barth’s reasoning. The bottom line is that the majority of high school youths will go on to try drugs, a statistic that doesn’t vary by much more than ‘under reporting variations’ in tested vs non tested schools, suggesting it maybe the stakeholders who need a reality check.

The POLICE are not educators of note, having little training in the subject and on drug issues deeply ‘politicized by morality’ in spite of scientific rigor, best practice and lots of our money. However, law makers and enforcers are not all incapable of the required critical thinking that we applaud in students (and teachers). That is why organizations such as Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (www.leap.cc) came to exist. Educators for Sensible Drug Policy and many other NGO’s seek to inform and engage the community on how school drug testing based on mob rule reasoning fails everyone including Police. Inquiring minds may benefit from seeking out �Study Finds No Sign That Testing Deters Students� Drug Use,� [NYT, 17 May 03.], or “Making Sense of Student Drug Testing, Why Educators are saying No.” [Gunja, Cox, Rosenbaum, Appel.Jan 04].

Drugs in schools can only be solved by a whole of community re-examination of what works and what doesn’t. All indications are for a beyond prohibition approach, empowered and without impediment, enabling an integrated ‘health promotion’ curriculum that incorporates the required knowledge for life, beyond the school gate.

Just say know for life choices!.

sig. Blair Anderson,

Educators for Sensible Drug Policy (NZ)

Christchurch, NZ.

http://mildgreens.com http://mildgreens.blogspot.com/

cell phone 025 2657219 ph (643) 389 4065

Get Blairs Brain on Newsfeed…
http://feeds.feedburner.com/BlairsBrain-CanvassingForOpinion