A tenth-grade student in Saskatchewan was suspended after he expressed his opinion that marijuana is safer than alcohol and tobacco and should be treated that way. This is a truly ridiculous case that really highlights one of the obstacles to ending marijuana prohibition: a refusal to tell students -- or, in this case, to let students tell -- the truth about marijuana. See below for excerpts from the National Post story.

Kieran King says he's never seen marijuana, let alone smoked or sold it. But cannabis has been causing problems for the 15-year-old honour student lately, ever since a fellow student complained about Kieran expressing his opinions on pot.

 

Kieran, a student with high marks and plans to spend next year studying in China, said he began researching facts about marijuana several months ago to supplement information he received in school. "That's kind of the person I am," Kieran said in a phone interview. "I tend to look things up to make sure I'm getting the whole story, the full story."
 

Kieran shared the information he found with classmates around the lunch table, mentioning studies that suggest marijuana kills fewer people than tobacco or alcohol. He also opined that marijuana use should be legal in Canada. "I wasn't selling any drugs, I was just giving out statistics," Kieran said.

One of his fellow students complained to Susan Wilson, the principal at Wawota Parkland School, who in turn called Keiran's mother on May 29. During the phone conversation, Kieran said he was accused of
"soliciting the sale of drugs to minors and others within the school."

Kieran said Ms. Wilson also threatened to call the police, but a spokesman for the school yesterday denied that the threat was made.