oakridger.com
Drug sniffing dogs in the UK

How interesting that the influence of our George Bush's personal army of prohibition profiteers extends across the globe now. The use of what they call in the UK "sniffer dogs" was unheard of three years ago and now over 100 schools use them routinely to search children for drugs. They're even taking them into primary schools for demonstrations of the kind of privacy invasions the tots can expect when they grow up.

Unlike the US program, the parents are at least asked to sign consent forms although it seems a moot point since the child will be "searched by hand" if they refuse to give permission. They also eschew the lock down model and instead gather the children into an assembly hall while their bags are sniffed in the classroom and then are personally sniffed as they exit the hall.

Also unlike the US, "A child found with cannabis or other soft drugs would not be arrested, but generally put on a course to learn about the risks of drug abuse. Those found with Class A drugs are handed over to the police."

Harry Shapiro, the editor of Druglink, said he was alarmed by the spread of sniffer dogs. "All parents, especially those with teenage children, worry about drugs, but this seems to be unhelpful to me.
"It causes distress and distrust amongst the children. Parents might think it is a good thing, but there is no evidence to support that. It may be well-meaning but it is not really going to solve any problems."

Indeed, the lesson the child will learn is not to trust adults because adults don't trust them.