To the Editor,

As a recent graduate of Brown University, and a resident of Rhode Island for four years, I am very angry to see that a high school in the state has chosen to utilize drug dog searches. I was particularly upset to read in your article that a student was suspended based on evidence that would never stand up in court - the alleged scent of marijuana found by a barking dog.

These searches will not serve as a deterrent from use in general. Instead, students will continue to do what they will, away from school. In the meantime, the school has indicated that it is more interested in punishing students harshly and "sending a message" than providing students with their legal right to an education. If administrators really want to reduce the actual harms involved with drug use, they should consider a far better use of funds and school time: reality-based drug education, such as Safety First (www.safetyfirst.org).

Police-state tactics involving "lock-downs" and drug-dogs are tools better saved to fight violent crime and terrorism. Leave the kids alone and let them learn in peace!

Benjamin Kintisch

President Emeritus, Brown University Students for Sensible Drug Policy

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