Bring on the dogs and increase the searches, penalties and punishment for students possessing and using drugs. Half of those answering our Feb. 23, 2012 poll think that way.
Here are some of the comments by those who responded to the survey:
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Education of health hazards of drug use, while important, will not deter many these kids from using drugs. It may be helpful for those who have not yet started down the path, but for the others, the allure is too strong for them to resist or quit. I would suggest a triple-play of 1) Education, 2) search and seizure, and 3) stiffer penalties to battle drug use at this level.
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Drugs are very easy to get at Petaluma High. My son says drug dealing goes down every day, right in front of the teachers.
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My opinion of the use of drug sniffing dogs by the Petaluma PD has little to do with restricting illegal drug use on school campuses and more to do with finding other revenue sources for the police department when financial penalties are levied against the users and/or the users parents. Instead, putting a cop back on campus sends a message to the kids, is a pre-emptive course of action and helps foster positive community police work.
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Novato School District has used drug-sniffing dogs for quite a few years. To my surprise a majority of the students support it because the drug users are a distraction to their education.
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The idea of drug-sniffing dogs to reduce the problem of drugs in our high schools is horrible. How short-sighted to think dogs finding drugs and leading to suspension and expulsion of students is the answer. Where is the drug eduction for teens showing the impact of their drug use on their bodies and developing brains? Kids and their parents need to be provided more drug treatment and education, not simply to sniff them out of school.

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Answer to Question # 2 – All of the above

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Close the schools down. They are nothing more than detention centers at this point. While we are at it we should close down the babysitting centers as well, otherwise know as elementary schools.

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Drug and alcohol use are two completely different issues. Don’t lump them together.

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Education starts at home. Kids are going to find and use drugs and alcohol because they are every where, My hope is they learn the negative affects before addiction sets in. I’ve seen too many young kids in rehabs and 12 step programs. Addiction is not a sign of weakness, It’s a disease. That is what needs to be addressed

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I’ve never met any productive marijuana users…just folks who are depressed, lonely, and anti-social. And I certainly wouldn’t want any professional, such as an airline pilot, dentist, or surgeon to arrive at work stoned. Californian voters certainly got suckered when they passed a bill that essentially is promoting medicinal marijuana, as though there are no repercussions to society. And the latest news shows a significant number of teens are admitting they are driving after getting stoned, so now our roads are even more unsafe.

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I don’t think the upswing in busts and bad behavior is due to the pressures of our economic problems, not medical marijuana. The statistics seem to follow the same trajectory. Poverty or uncertainty at home can easily drive abusive behavior be it with drugs, alcohol, bullying, or skipping class. Not much different than the class of 1969 where we faced the draft if we couldn’t get into collage.

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I never would have made it through High School without drugs and alcohol.

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I never would have made it through high school without drugs and alcohol. 35 years later I’m pulling in a $125K annual salary. The drug sniffing dogs just make me cringe. We teach the Bill of Rights in Civics Class and the holocaust in U.S. History class but then use totalitarian tactics like drug dogs? What message are we really sending? Education is the key.

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I suggest that you print the Bill of Rights; that is, the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, on your editorial page every issue. Let anyone who is concerned about this, volunteer for night picket duty outside the forward operating bases in Afghanistan to stop the traffic in hashish. Seriously, the worse problem we have in this country is the high school dropout rate. The police in our town are well trained and I trust them with my life. They should not have their time wasted. Better idea is to have a medical presentation showing young people that marijuana use decreases short term memory–so if they want to pass a test, they should not consume it. Sniffing dogs is a violation of the freedom from unreasonable search and seizure protection.

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I think if kids are using drugs there is a reason. I would like to see more pro-active education and involvement so it doesn’t get to the point where we have to use any of the above actions. We need to start at home with parents questioning themselves as to how much real quality time are they spending with their kids. Are parents placing a higher value on material possessions and body image than on the quality of their lives and relationships? Are they allowing unhealthy influences to play too big a role in their children’s lives? Our society has such unhealthy obsessions – what we look like, what we drive, and what we own, to name a few. Those are such empty and temporal things to focus so much energy on; it’s no wonder our youth turn to drugs.

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I work at the secondary schools and by high school it is to late to educate the students to the dangers of drugs and alcohol. I don’t believe in randomly searching lockers but I do believe in increasing the penalties for possession.

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Let’s face it — this is a prime area for marijuana growing and use. Perhaps a worse problem than cigarettes because kids won’t focus in class – but they aren’t harming themselves other than not being present for school. Alcohol? Some foolish kids way overdue it and make themselves sick or worse. So more education – but more search and seizure just makes kids feel they aren’t safe anywhere – the cops are the enemy. Would rather they look on police are people they can go to to talk, ask or get help when they do need it. Like if a kid gets drunk or harms another youth or threatens to. Kids who have smoked a joint at lunch are just dreamy and not getting a good study period. Wrong but not scary wrong in my opinion.

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Maybe parents should start setting the example for the kids. Turn off the TV and talk once in awhile.

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Parents are the key they need to be more involved with their children. It’s not up to the schools to play cop! Years ago they took lockers out of Casa to curb drug use I guess that didn’t work, Give the kids back their lockers and Let The Dogs Out!

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The best way to decrease drug and alcohol use is for the parents of the students to talk to their children about the drawbacks of such use. Start early and do not stop talking to them about it until they have matured.

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The schools don’t have enough money for many programs and now they want to spend money on drug sniffing dogs. That won’t help anyone become a better student, they need to get their priorities in order! I guess we don’t need to vote on any new school taxes or donate to the schools if this is what they want to spend their money on.

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The unions will scramble. They would never want the teachers to have to be tested or God forbid searched.

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This cannot be tolerated. Need more street-smart teachers.

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We must educate our kids, increase the search and seizure process in the school, increase the penalties for possession and/or use and hope this does some good. Without parents support we have no chance to save our future leaders. Parents have to lead by example. Like father, like son still applies.