The war on drugs: Black lab helps sniff out drug offenses at high school

A black lab with a graying muzzle ran through the Bigfork high school library at the last school board meeting, nose to the ground in determined concentration.

Her nose landed on a black bag where her handler had hidden a small cotton swab of vodka. The dog turned and sat, indicating she had located one of the smells she is trained to find.

Jetta and her handler, Keith Chambers, with Interquest Detection Canines, provided the demonstration to the Bigfork school board and explained their relationship with the school district. Interquest is a private contractor that Bigfork and other Flathead Valley schools use to conduct periodic searches for illicit substances on campus. Jetta is trained to detect marijuana, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamne, alcohol, prescription drugs, gunpowder, firearms and tobacco. The searches are meant to deter students from bringing substances to school, and Bigfork has contracted with Interquest for several years as part of their effort to encourage students to steer clear of tobacco, drugs and alcohol.

“The canine searches are primarily intended as a deterrent,” Bigfork superintendent Matt Jensen said. Interquest canine’s visits Bigfork three to five times a year, Jensen said. Chambers lets them know when he is going to be coming through the area, and makes sure it works with the school. Only Jensen and the building administrator know that the dog is coming. When the dog does her searches the school goes on lockdown. When the dog checks in a classroom, students are asked to leave their backpacks and jackets and go into the hall. If the dog hits on something, the student is pulled aside and given a chance to explain what the dog might have smelled, and why. Often times the students don’t have anything and the dog is picking up a smell because perhaps their backpack was in a room where marijuana was smoked, or a spent shotgun shell was left in the back of a pickup after a hunting trip.

Chambers and his dog spend about three hours at the school, Jensen said.

In the most recent searches, Jensen said, the dog hit on about 15 cars or backpacks, and only a few actually contained something.

“When we come into your school, we create a friendly environment,” Chambers said. “We are not law enforcement.”

Last month, misdemeanor amounts of illicit substances were found in the possession of students at Bigfork High School. 

“It wasn’t a big deal,” Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry said. “It’s not anything out of the norm.”

The Northwest Montana Drug Task force visited the school based on a call from a parent, Tom Allen, the drug task force commander, said.

While a couple of students were found with illicit substances, Allen said the instance wasn’t anything unusual. Bigfork schools declined to say what the substances were, or how many students were involved.

“There are no unusual events taking place in Bigfork that aren’t taking place anywhere else,” Allen said.

In the last five years, Jensen said, the school has averaged about four offenses every year, usually alcohol or marijuana. He said that they haven’t found anything in searches other than alcohol, marijuana, tobacco or prescription drugs.

Interquest Detection Canines also visited last month and performed two searches on back-to-back days.

Administrators asked the company do the back-to-back days because they had heard rumors that it was on the day after a search when students would think they were safe to bring something to school.Nothing was turned up in the second search, Jensen said. 

Jensen said the school tries to be proactive and deter students from using drugs, or at least bringing them to school. Having a closed campus helps, he said, and the canine searches help as well.

“Those are all proactive things to keep substance abuse down,” he said.

During the public comment section at the start of the last school board meeting, parent Jeff Hider asked for some clarification about what was happening with drugs and canine searches at the school.

Hider relayed the rumors to the board he had heard that cocaine and methamphetamine had been found.

“I have nothing to go on other than the rumors,” he said. “What I’m concerned with is that there’s been a mini crisis.”

He asked the board for facts to help the community and parents understand what is actually going on. He suggested something be posted on the school website or sent out to parents after any incidents to them know what substances were or were not found, and how many students were busted.

Jensen said that as a parent he agreed with Hider’s concerns, but as an administrator he has a responsibility to give the offending student due process and a chance to remedy the problem.

“I’m not comfortable with posting the information immediately after a search because I believe it would be too personally identifying to the student and the family,” Jensen said.

He also said he doesn’t want information posted prior to the board of trustees having an opportunity to review the information and enforce discipline outlined in policy.

During his presentation, Chambers said he had never found heroin or meth at Bigfork.

When students are caught with illicit substances in their possession at school, Jensen said, the consequences are serious. They are aimed at helping that student fix their problem and move on. “We care a lot about getting that individual student support,” Jensen said.

When a student is caught with illicit substances in their possession in Bigfork Schools the policy is a 90-day suspension. Law enforcement and parents are notified and the situation is brought to the school board for a disciplinary hearing. If the student takes responsibility for their actions, and they and their parent agree to help, alternatives are offered in lieu of the 90-day suspension. Alternatives can include 10 to 20 days of out of school suspension, followed by 10 to 20 days of in-school suspension, and 10 to 40 hours of community service.

Students must take a chemical abuse evaluation at their parents’ expense, and adhere to any drug tests. They are subject to grade checks every week in all of their classes, where they must be getting at least 70 percent, or they are assigned to extra study. Seniors lose senior privileges, and students are directed to a student assistance program.

If the student violates any of the punishment then they are subject to finishing out the remainder of the 90-day period suspended. 

In the case that a student doesn’t take responsibility, Jensen said, they are suspended for the full 90 days. If they won’t take the support, he said, they shouldn’t be in school and around other kids.

“Very rarely do we have a second offense,” Jensen said. “It’s effective.”

Jensen said he thinks Bigfork’s consequences for an illicit substance offense may be more strict than other local schools. 

“Our consequences are viewed by many as stiffer,” Jensen said. “We think it’s totally appropriate for the environment we have and the environment we want to maintain.”

Scott Gaiser, principal at Columbia Falls High School, said a student caught with possession of illicit substances is suspended for five days and is suspended from any extracurricular activities for 30 days. Offending students must participate in a rehabilitation program, and parents have to provide evidence that the student is doing so. In addition, the student meets with the school board discipline committee to figure out what their counseling needs are. The student must also pass drug tests to return to school, and is subject to random drug tests throughout the rest of their high school career.

Columbia Falls also partners with Interquest to help deter students from bringing substances to school.

“It’s been a pretty successful process,” Gaiser said. “We very rarely have any issues there on campus.”

While there are slight variations in school policies valley wide for how to handle illicit substances, all of the policies consider a student who is under the influence to be in possession of the substance. They also call for expulsion of a student if they commit a second offense.

Allen, with the Northwest Montana Drug Task Force, said the drug task force doesn’t typically deal with juveniles, but they do work with schools around the valley to provide education to help prevent students from getting into drugs. 

“We strongly believe that education is part of the cure,” he said.

He also commended the area schools for their efforts to deter students from becoming involved with abusive substances.

“This is an issue that generates a lot of controversy when we’re trying to do the right thing,” Jensen said. Having 300 students for about 180 days every year, Jensen said there is plently of opportunity for students to make mistakes.

“When they make mistakes, we hold them accountable and focus on solutions,” he said.