Pubdate: Sun, 25 Feb 2007
Source: Walton Tribune, The (GA)
Copyright: 2007 The Walton Tribune
Contact: http://waltontribune.com/letter.lasso
Website: http://waltontribune.com/index.lasso
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3967
Author: Stephen Milligan
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test)

WCPS TO BEGIN USE OF DRUG-DETECTING KITS

COUNTY -- Striving to  decrease drug use in local schools, Walton 
County  Public Schools has added a new weapon to its arsenal in 
fighting back against drug use.

Thanks to a federal grant, the school system has  acquired new 
drug-testing kits that allow school  officials to determine not only 
whether a student has  used or handled drugs, but the particular drug 
in  question in each case.

"The kit has two aerosol sprays," said Capt. Darren  Vinson of the 
Walton County Sheriff's Office. "One  detects marijuana and the other 
detects cocaine, crack  and meth and that sort of thing."

Using the kits, a school employee can rub a small pad  on a book bag, 
locker handle or another possession of a  student suspected of drug 
use and then spray the pad  with the aerosol, school officials said.

If the student has been using any sort of drug, the pad  will change 
color to detect the presence of illicit  chemicals. Various colors 
betray the use of  corresponding drugs.

"This gives the principal more control of the  situation," Vinson said.

"Before, if the principal or staff suspected a kid had  drugs, they 
had to search the student and figure out  what drug was involved," 
Vinson said. "Now, the spray  will detect which type of drug was used 
based on the  chemicals in the spray."

School officials, including Principal Sean Callahan of  Carver Middle 
School, and Sheriff's Office officials  presented the kits to the 
Walton County Board of  Education earlier this month to demonstrate 
the kits'  effectiveness. Applying certain drugs, including 
marijuana, methamphetamines and "ice," to pieces of  paper, the board 
members were allowed to test the paper  themselves, using the spray 
to reveal various  color-coded drug warnings.

"A lot of schools have started using this, and with the  board's 
approval, we'll be using it starting next  month," Vinson said.

For the school system, the kits are a better way of  preventing drug 
abuse among students.

"We know that it is a high priority for parents and our  community to 
keep our schools drug free," said Dr. Tim  Lull, superintendent of 
WCPS. "We participate in a  federal program called Drug Free Schools 
which gives us  the funding to participate in programs that will 
support that effort. We have joined in a new federal  grant that 
provides us access to highly effective drug  testing technology. We 
want students and parents to  know that the technology is available 
and will be  used."

Vinson said that the kits will help schools partner  with law 
enforcement in removing drugs from local  schools.

"If the schools think drugs are being used in the  bathroom, they can 
test it and find out where drugs are  being used and where," Vinson 
said. "It gives them  first-hand knowledge before they get us 
involved. We  can take it from there."

Even more important than catching drug users, to Vinson  and the 
schools, is preventing drugs from reaching  campus in the future.

"This effort is designed to be a deterrent," Lull said.  "We want to 
provide students with a very good reason to  keep the drugs away from 
our schools."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman