A Catholic school in Colombia’s central Santander department has supposedly stamped out the sale and use of drugs by employing a drug-sniffing dog.
The principal of “Colegio La Presentacion” petitioned to get a police dog as marijuana and “bazuco” — a coca-based drug similar to crack — constituted a school-wide problem.
Once the dog was delivered, a nun patrolled the halls with her sharp-nosed canine who would lie down beside youths who were holding. According to reports, this has resulted in the eradication of narcotics in the school.
The Santander Secretary of Education, Julio Villate, hailed the dog as a “guardian of children.”
Drug use in Colombian schools is a huge problem with children as young as five being admitted to addiction centers. One media report told of a case where the mother of a student was allowed onto school grounds to sell sweets, but she supposedly used this guise to supply drugs to children.
According to a 2011 government study, nearly 5% of schoolchildren aged 11–12 reportedly had taken a psychoactive substance, a figure that reaches over 20% of children aged 16–18 years. These percentages may be higher depending on which city the school is in and whether it is public or private.
Cheap prices make illegal drugs affordable for young people with prices for a gram of cocaine costing around $11 and the price of a joint as low as 50 cents.
Sources
- Monja acabo con el consumo de estupefacientes en su colegio con un perro antinarcoticos (Caracol)
- Experta Colombiana advierte sobre llegada de drogas a escuelas regionales (noticias.terra.com)
- Se dispara consuma de drogas ilicitas en colegios de Colombia (Caracol)
- Alarma por las nueves drogas que estan consumiendo menores en colegios (El Tiempo)
- Estudio nacional de consumo de sustancias psioactivas en poblacion escolar Colombia – 2011 (Observatorio Nacional de Salud Mental y Drogas)
