Home Politics & Debate
If you need urgent support, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. To contact our Crisis Messenger (open 24/7) text THEMIX to 85258.
Options

Sniffing students for drugs.

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
The Midlands school district is using dogs to sniff students for drugs. I don't use drugs. I have sat and talking with people when they were smoking something.

Somehow this seems a violation of student rights...the big deal on the education side, i think that was her title, said she was going to rid the school of drugs.

Why do we think?

Comments

  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Drug use (of a non-medicinal nature) can't be good for the reputation of the school (in the parents' eyes).

    They are now being seen to do something to cut drug use in the school.

    Whatever views many will have, a lot of parents will still not what to expose their offspring to illegal drugs.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Great-so we move drugs back where they belong, onto the violent city streets where people's children can be killed for wanting a little weed in their pocket. Plus, now they have the opportunity to get into the harder, far more dangerous drugs that can slip under a dog's radar. Wonderful news.

    *note sarcasm*
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    In the US, the teachers and schools have t o worry about getting sued if they don't try to get things like drugs away from students in schools.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think it's quite amusing. Where's your source, pnj, I want to know if it's any schools I know (I'm from the Midlands...)
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    read it today or yesterday in the mirror or guardian.
    by all means keep drugs out of schools and this will deter kids taking them into school. they will stash it in a hedge instead.
    it will help keep skool clean. it won't stop kids having a spliff.
    it's sad that children should be doing it anyway. save it till later kids.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The thing is when I was younger we never saw drugs, hardly heard about them. I was happy just being a normal teenager, going to school and hanging about in the phone box on a night:D

    Now drugs are everywhere, kids grow up with it so they dont know anything else. I think its good that they are checking for drugs in school, maybe more checks should be made where kids congregate then them arseholes called pushers might get fed up of trying to flog drugs where the younsters are. Mind I suppose what happens is they just move on somewhere else, so its a vicious circle really.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Can someone explain to me why this is a bad thing?

    Or how it infringes on "student rights"?
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    From my experiance from my school and hanging out with quite a few stonners most of them would have just not bothered coming into school at all if they knew a dog was going to be there.

    I can see the point but this sort of thing has to be coupled with a massive amount of education for kids about the dangers of using drugs.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    MOK, it does assume that everyone is guilty and creates a tone like you're walking past a police line up every day.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by pnjsurferpoet
    MOK, it does assume that everyone is guilty and creates a tone like you're walking past a police line up every day.

    No it doesn't any more than Customs and immigration checks do, or random police checks.

    What it does is put a barrier in the way of people who want to take drugs into the school. Basically I have to ask, if you aren't doing anything illegal, why are you concerned.

    You are talking about an enclosed environment in which you are only granted access by permission of the Head Teacher, so why shouldn't she take steps to keep out people committing an illegal act?
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    "Customs" That's a good way to look at it MOK. I don't do drugs as I've said.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Man Of Kent

    Basically I have to ask, if you aren't doing anything illegal, why are you concerned.

    I was perhaps a little over-zealous with my argument before, but still I have to ask, isn't this line of thinking a little too spooky-big-brotherish?

    Ah well. I suppose that the rights to individual freedoms have never really applied to children under 18...
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i'm sure you all know i've smoked weed a long time. my grown and responsible children also smoke but only occasionaly as they are busy people but... i agree with this approach to helping kids be safe and secure in school. we have a drug problem and need to do whatever we can to lessen that problem. one way is the legalisation of cannabis. not for kids io might add.
    if you knew your kids were getting access to whisky in school you'd be outraged. same with drugs.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Man Of Kent
    What it does is put a barrier in the way of people who want to take drugs into the school. Basically I have to ask, if you aren't doing anything illegal, why are you concerned.

    You are talking about an enclosed environment in which you are only granted access by permission of the Head Teacher, so why shouldn't she take steps to keep out people committing an illegal act?
    Agree with MOK on the first point, but not the second:
    • Kids with drugs are banned from school. Where do they go then? They have to go somewhere. Normally when a kid is expelled, except in extreme circumstances, the school doing the expelling has to ensure that there is somewhere else for the kid to go.
    • My experience in school (and I know it's the same for at least one other school in my area), is that the Head doesn't know much about the pupils, and definatly not what they smoke at breaks, or even who smokes (weed or otherwise). My Head seems to spend most of his time in his office smoking cigars, and comes out reeking of them, so there's not a lot he could say anyway.
    • What kind of steps do you think a teacher could take? Most of the people I know who smoke or do other drugs are quite clever and do work fairly well in school. Smoking is just something that they do, their life doesn't revolve around it.
  • Options
    SkiveSkive Posts: 15,286 Skive's The Limit
    Originally posted by BeckyBoo
    I think its good that they are checking for drugs in school, maybe more checks should be made where kids congregate then them arseholes called pushers might get fed up of trying to flog drugs where the younsters are. Mind I suppose what happens is they just move on somewhere else, so its a vicious circle really.

    Drugs arn't 'pushed' they're 'pulled'.

    Where have you got this pictrue of a sterotypical 'pusher' from? The papers? TV? The governemnt? Parents? Do you really think that people stand at the gates of schools handing out heroin for free trying to get them hooked as customers ...I'm sorry but it doesn't work like that!

    Generally dealers don't target people, they don't need to. In my experience drugs reach kids through their mates and older siblings.

    As for sniffer dogs in school, personally I think it's a good idea. Kids are there to learn that speed's measured in mph rather than grams! I wouldn't have a problem if my employee got soem sniffers in at work, and that's because there's a time and a place for everything. Drugs shouldn't be in our schools.

    I can't see them doing this in uni's and colleges though!
    Weekender Offender 
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I must say I really hate the idea of 'well if your not doing anything wrong you've got nothing to hide'

    Can I follow you round 24 hours a day videoing every action you take?
    If your doing nothing wrong surely you wouldnt mind.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by bongbudda
    I must say I really hate the idea of 'well if your not doing anything wrong you've got nothing to hide'

    Can I follow you round 24 hours a day videoing every action you take?
    If your doing nothing wrong surely you wouldnt mind.
    Conceded, I wouldn't like someone following me around with a camera all the time, but that's not because I'm doing anything wrong, that's because I would like some privacy. How is letting a police dog have a sniff around a school an invasion of privacy?
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I wasnt saying that the dogs were an inherantly bad idea I just mean that when we are taking messures like this we need to be very careful that we dont let things get taken away that will never come back.
    We already have internment in this country. A right to trial? Hmm I think not if you look muslim.
Sign In or Register to comment.