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Original poster

drug search at school

394 replies

hahaRainbow · 13/02/2015 17:43

Is this legal? my ds has come home from school (state comp) where (he says) during a science class, a teacher arrived announcing that 'this is a drug free school and now we are going to have the sniffer dogs in'.

Apparently the kids were then lined up while a dog ran up and down sniffing them and another dog sniffed the classroom.

of course I'm not happy about drugs at school but I do wonder about the legalities of this and what IF a kid had been caught.... am I wrong to be worried?

OP posts:
Bunbaker · 14/02/2015 09:59

"It wouldn't matter if they were holding it for a mate or whatever, they'd get punished just the same and most likely cautioned."

When the staff at DD's school caught some students with some drugs they managed to establish who was carrying and who was dealing. The dealer was permanently excluded and the carriers were put into isolation, but not excluded.

I don't know the details of how they knew who the carriers/dealer were, but I suspect they must have had good grounds to challenge them and, presumably carry out a search (in an appropriate manner).

The school operates a zero tolerance policy against illegal drugs of any kind.

Callooh · 14/02/2015 10:01

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

SuburbanRhonda · 14/02/2015 10:01

bigjim, of course every young person has the right to an education.

What they don't have is the right to bring drugs into a school.

EveDallas · 14/02/2015 10:02

Where did I say they couldn't?

Both DD and DSD know that drugs are bad, that they are illegal, that they kill. They know that drug dealers are the scum of the earth. They also know that if they break the law (whatever law, not just drugs) they will be punished, whether by me or by the authorities. The severity of their crime will depend on the severity of their punishment.

DD is too young to worry about drugs (use, supply or possession), DSD thinks drugs are for losers and is going into a profession where there is zero tolerance.

tiggytape · 14/02/2015 10:04

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SuburbanRhonda · 14/02/2015 10:08

For those who object to a sniffer dog, what would be your method of choice for ensuring there are no drugs in schools?

bigjimsdiamondmine · 14/02/2015 10:08

Nickynacky. I didn't mean carrying drugs on school property should be tolerated, but that random police dog sniffing sessions weren't they way to go about dealing with it. I can see it causing more harm than good in terms of creating an us and them approach to drugs which has worked so terribly historically. It appeared we were moving away from that for a while, but this is a step back. It will also discourage drug users from attending school, which is already a problem. The approach criminalizes drug users, rather than tackling drug use as a medical issue, which geographical evidence has shown to be the most effective vehicle for reducing addiction, and preventing drug related deaths.

The whole approach smacks of gut reaction over logical consideration.

OddBoots · 14/02/2015 10:10

If my children were at the stage of bringing drugs into school then it is beyond the point of 'going to with a problem', that particular ball would already have been dropped.

Taking drugs into school is a million miles away from talking about drugs in an open and informed way.

Bunbaker · 14/02/2015 10:11

So, what do you suggest then?

UncleT · 14/02/2015 10:12

Again, what's the basis for 'random' here?

Nicknacky · 14/02/2015 10:14

bigjim so how do you suggest the school establish if drugs are on the premises?

And discouraging drug users going to school?! Or maybe they could attend but leave the drugs at home? And casual drug use (such as cannabis) is not a medical issue. Addiction is, yes, but there will be few children who fall into this category.

pudcat · 14/02/2015 10:16

I cannot believe that some posters do not want to keep their children safe by finding drug dealers on school premises. A sniffer dog will not hurt your child but drugs will. Drug dealers can be very "persuasive" in several ways to get a child hooked. Surely it is better to be sniffed by a dog than to be found dead the following week because they had taken dodgy substances or were "dealt with" by dealers. Do not stick your head in the sand and say it could not happen to your child because unfortunately it can.

bigjimsdiamondmine · 14/02/2015 10:17

Decriminalization, regulation, honest informative drugs education as opposed to scare tactics. Confidential drugs support with an open door policy. Permanent stationing of drugs advisers in schools. Parental/teacher liaison about drugs in school. An approach similar to that in holland which is statistically proven to be effective, no matter how namby pamby loony left it sounds!

SuburbanRhonda · 14/02/2015 10:18

This approach criminalises drug users.

No bigjim, they are commiting a crime by using drugs. Their choice.

PilchardPrincess · 14/02/2015 10:21

I don't object to bringing a dog into the school but I do object to the children being lined up and searched - whether that searching is done by nose or by hand. For the reasons stated upthread.

I also think there is a wider conversation here around general policy around drugs in the UK and what is the best way of dealing with people who are caught in possession etc. Many people have argued for years that criminalising such an enormous % of the population undermines the authorities. That is all probably a matter for a different thread though.

I suppose that children will experiment and do stupid things - in my class at secondary school by the end I would say it wasn't more than a handful of children who hadn't tried drugs. The part of the country I live in has a lot of casual drug use (or did while I was growing up) and the people have gone on to have perfectly normal upstanding type lives. Is it appropriate to react with removal from mainstream society to what is in some areas rife but fairly harmless? Is it appropriate to apply the same measures somewhere like here as an inner city area where it's often a different picture with children being involved younger and gang aspects meaning an entirely different picture? If you're looking at children who are in a culture with a healthy dislike for the police (for valid reasons) how is lining them up in school (where they might hope to get away from that) going to help? You're saying "out of school, in school, because of who you are, where you live, what you look like, we think you're likely to be a criminal". Not good for social cohesion etc.

I think this is more complex than just zero tolerance, line up against the wall, you will be searched now.

Whole thing makes me uncomfortable and in areas with problems with stop and search it's just really not good.

Like I say, dog in school having a general snoop around, for me, OK.

Lining the children up for searching is, for me, not on whether it's a search by nose or by hand.

Nicknacky · 14/02/2015 10:21

Decriminalisation of all drugs is NOT going to happen. And rightly so.

I totally agree with users getting support if they want it, but to possess drugs in a school is an offence and that has to be dealt with.

bigjimsdiamondmine · 14/02/2015 10:22

oh bugger the links not working, I'm on my nexus. never mind just an interesting article about the points I was raising. I hate giving my opinion on this because its so unpopular, and I don't mean to upset people who have lost people to drug use, I have lost friends to drugs and alcohol too so I am by no means 'pro' drugs. I have studied this topics quite intensely and am aware of research, and policies which are effectives, and those which ate not. I'm fully aware how loony I sound but I just wan (like most people) to reduce the harm which drugs cause within society.

tiggytape · 14/02/2015 10:22

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

bigjimsdiamondmine · 14/02/2015 10:23

sorry about typos, I'm not off my face, just using a touch screen!

PilchardPrincess · 14/02/2015 10:24

Sorry not saying all inner city areas are like that Grin

But pointing out that "drugs" and who is using them and for what and why and what the likely consequences will be varies enormously according to certain variables and what might be appropriate in one place will not be in another.

EveDallas · 14/02/2015 10:29

When Compulsory Drugs Testing was first introduced in the military they caught a lot of users. People in charge of guns and ammunition. People going on patrols with loaded rifles, people in positions of trust and responsibility.

They kicked out a lot of soldiers.

10 years later they got 'soft'. They introduced an Early Intervention programme for young soldiers, where they had counselling, education, medical intervention, drug support etc.

It didn't work. They caught the same people over and again. People who had probably been using since childhood.

So they went back to zero tolerance - which does work.

One size does not fit all, but I prefer the Zero Tolerance approach and am very happy to use it for my own kids. Others may choose a different approach and if it works for them, great.

Just don't question my parenting because you don't agree.

bigjimsdiamondmine · 14/02/2015 10:30

Well realistically non of it is up to me,I was speaking hypothetically because someone asked what would you propose instead. Within the confines of what could reasonably achieved just in schools I would propose a more in depth, informative discussion about the individual dangers of specific drugs, along with the reasons why people take them (the positive effects). An exploration of why specific people are more susceptible to drug use and addiction, as well as up to date information on the ways to stay as safe as possible if and when taking drugs. Currently schools have the approach of all drugs bad,all drug users bad,write them off. A lot of people have the 'was that it?' feeling after first taking drugs, assuming that teachers must have been lying/wrong, or 'I've done that now and survived so I must be fine to take drugs', which unfortunately is not true.