Saturday, March 06, 2010

The War on Refusing Drugs

A middle school girl is suspended by her school after giving back the pills her friend gave her.
The girl did not bring the prescription drug to her Jeffersonville, IN school, nor did she take it, but she admits that she touched it and in Greater Clark County Schools that is drug possession.

Rachael Greer said it happened on Feb. 23 during fifth period gym class at River Valley Middle School when a girl walked into the locker room with a bag of pills.

"She was talking to another girl and me about them and she put one in my hand and I was like, ‘I don't want this,' so I put it back in the bag and I went to gym class," said Rachael.

The pills were the prescription ADHD drug, Adderall. Patty Greer, Rachael's mother, said she and her husband are proud of their daughter for turning down drugs, just like she's been taught for years by DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) instructors at school.
[...]
According to Greater Clark County Schools district policy, even a touch equals drug possession and a one week suspension.

The district says as far as it's concern, that counts as possession. The article claims "District officials say if they're not strict about drug policies no one will take them seriously." Oh, I don't know if they have to worry about that. And if I'm the judge in the inevitable lawsuit, my first question for the district's attorney is "what if the girl just had a pill thrown at her? What if it was tossed at her and she reflexively caught it and dropped it?"

Kind of extreme examples -- but then, under normal circumstances so is the case of the girl who is handed the pill and immediately gave it back. What we have is a situation where the school district officials clearly are less intelligent than the students they're overseeing.

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