The recent arrest of Cambridge high school students is one more example of how not to discourage drug use among teenagers and serves to only ruin their lives well into the future by permanently giving them the stigma of a criminal record.

Using the police as social workers is and has been a complete failure. One only need to visit our prisons which are overcrowded with large numbers of youthful drug offenders to witness the utter failure of this approach.

Adolescent experimentation with drugs will continue despite the misguided efforts of law enforcement and only serves to further alienate youths from authorities, perhaps increasing drug use.

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