Pubdate: Sun, 14 Jun 2009
Source: Charleston Gazette (WV)
Copyright: 2009 Charleston Gazette
Contact:  http://www.wvgazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/77
Author: Davin White

KANAWHA SCHOOL BOARD PRESIDENT WANTS DRUG-DOG SEARCHES OF STUDENTS

Becky Jordon Says The Kanawha County School System Doesn't Need A 
Prescription Drug-Related Death.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Becky Jordon says the Kanawha County school 
system doesn't need a prescription drug-related death.

Jordon, the school board president, is willing to allow drug dogs 
into county schools to sniff out students for prescription pills.

"We want the drugs out of the school," she said. "We don't need a fatality."

Students have grown wise to the tactics of teachers and principals, 
and hide prescription drugs in their pants, underpants and shoes, Jordon said.

"We have principals screaming about the problem," Jordon said. "We 
need to stay one step ahead of the kids. They don't need to keep the 
students two steps ahead of the administrators."

About five years ago, school board members revised a policy to allow 
drug dogs to randomly search students for drug possession -- if 
Superintendent Ron Duerring specifically allows it, school board 
attorney Jim Withrow said.

School officials just never thought to implement student searches 
until recently, Jordon said.

Cpl. Charles Young, canine commander for Charleston Police, said some 
of the dogs that police officers train are able to detect 
prescription drugs such as OxyContin, a powerful painkiller.

Young's dog, Bishop, is trained to smell the illegal pill ecstasy. 
Once a month, Charleston's canine officials get together to train 
dogs, and State Police units often join them, Young said.

"You know, you move with the times and now prescription [drugs are] 
the deal," he said.

Young said city police plan to train a dog or two to smell for Xanax, 
a prescription drug used to treat anxiety and panic disorders.

Earlier this spring, George Washington High School Principal Melissa 
Ruddle said students have been caught with Xanax and drugs like 
Adderall and Ritalin, used to treat attention deficit disorder.

"The teachers need to let us know what they have a problem with," Young said.

In the past, it was normal to alert on the presence of pills when a 
suspect possessed marijuana or had the odor of burnt marijuana on 
him, Young said. These days, that's not always the case.

Training for pills

Mike O'Neil, a professor at the University of Charleston's School of 
Pharmacy, said there's nothing different about a dog sniffing for 
chemicals in a prescription drug or for those in cocaine or heroin.

If a dog has been trained on heroin alone, she should also be able to 
detect Dilaudid, oxycodone, hydrocodone or morphine because the 
chemical structures are similar, O'Neil said.

O'Neil has been a longtime dog handler and trainer for law enforcement.

He'll start to train a dog with marijuana, for instance, and teach 
her that identifying the odor is part of a game.

Once the dog has considered the search for marijuana a game, O'Neil 
can begin to add one drug at a time, like Xanax, to the game.

One necessity when training, O'Neil said, is that a dog be trained on 
pure drugs. For instance, a crumbled Lortab might contain hydrocodone 
and 650 milligrams of Tylenol.

If a dog is trained on that substance, he'll later hit on every 
Tylenol bottle during a search.

"That's not appropriate," O'Neil said. "You want to be dealing with 
the purest substance possible."

After a dog has learned to detect OxyContin, for example, Charleston 
canine officers will test the dog by laying down a bologna sandwich 
with one or two pills, Young said.

"It's a little tougher for them," he said.

'Passive' searches of people

O'Neil says a passive indicator of drug detection is ideal when 
searching people. An aggressive indicator means the dog will paw, 
scratch or bite when it's found a drug or material.

You don't want a bomb dog to be an aggressive indicator, O'Neil said.

"We don't want to go out and just sic the dog on you," Young added.

A passive indicator means the end result of a search is that the dog 
will sit or lie down, O'Neil said. However, trainers need to keep an 
eye on changes in the dog's behavior before she sits down, he said.

"Usually, you look for the obvious changes in their body," Young 
said. "Sometimes it's just their breathing changes."

The dog's changes can be extremely important when it comes to 
procedural questions in a courtroom, O'Neil said.

"You have to be able to read your dog because they are going to have 
body behavior changes and mood changes," he said. "Being able to read 
your dog is very, very critical."

Jordon believes she can speak for the rest of the school board 
members in wanting to allow some searches of students. The other 
board members are Robin Rector, Jim Crawford, Pete Thaw and Bill Raglin.

Thaw agrees with Jordon, and is even interested to see how much it 
might cost the school board to buy its own dog. Law enforcement 
officials could care for the dog and use it at schools and for other 
matters, he said.

"The medicine cabinet is becoming the biggest drug problem we have," 
Thaw said. "I hope we can get the dogs that can smell prescription drugs."

For now, Charleston Police officers continue to research the issue 
but do not individually search students like they would lockers or 
backpacks, Young said. It's an issue that has been contested in 
different courts with varying results, he said.

"Unfortunately like everyone we've got to worry about getting sued," 
Young said. "We want to be completely correct and check all aspects of it."
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