Drugs When Is Saying "NO" Alright.....

[Anonymous]

Zero-Tolerance Drug Policy: Seventh Grader Suspended For Touching Aderall Pill
First Posted: 03- 1-10 09:48 AM   |   Updated: 03- 1-10 12:13 PM
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Zero Tolerance Drug Policy
Rachel Greer was suspended from school for touching Adderall

A seventh grader who touched a prescription drug pill while at school has been suspended for a week because of her school's interpretation of their zero-tolerance drug policy.

According to officials at River Valley Middle School in Jeffersonville, Indiana, student Rachel Greer violated their drug policy simply by holding Adderall, an ADHD drug, that a fellow student offered to her and placed in her hand. Despite declining the pill and returning it to her classmate, Greer was in "posession" of a drug and broke the rules, according to a school official.

TV station WAVE 3 interviewed Greer's mother, who warned that her daughter's punishment isn't good policy. "We're teaching our kids if you say no to drugs you're going to get punished, it's not right."

School administrator Marty Bell told WHAS News that Rachel Greer violated school policy by simply being present. Bell faulted the teenager for putting out her hand:

    "Someone hands them a pill or a drug or something like that and they say well I said no I didn't participate. Well the act of saying no is not to be there, not to be involved in the handling the you know they didn't have to put their hand out," says Marty Bell of Greater Clark County Schools.

    Marty Bell says students and parents have to sign off on their policy so they know the rules.

Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, blogged about the incident and the school's zero-tolerance policy:

    One of my greatest gripes in these cases is the bizarre interpretations of school officials who cloak draconian and nonsensical actions in quasi-legal rationales.
 :shamrock:  :shamrock:
Danny........

[Anonymous]

Another take on this........
 :shamrock:  :shamrock:
Switcher
Rachel Greer Touches Aderall Pill, Gets Zero-Toleranced Out of School
By Jay Andrew Allen

March 1st, 2010
Goto comments Leave a comment

Rachel GreerIt’s an odd-numbered day, which means it must be time for another tale of “zero tolerance” policies run amok in our public schools like Godzilla in downtown Tokyo. Lo and behold, today’s victim: Rachel Greer, a seventh grader at River Valley Middle School in Jeffersonville, Indiana. A classmate placed one of her Aderall pills (prescribed for ADHD) into Greer’s hand. Greer gave it back. But – doesn’t matter! She TOUCHED it! She’s got DRUG COOTIES!! The school suspended Greer for Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Return Promptly.

Administrator Marty Bell of Greater Clark County Schools says Greer is guilty of holding out her hand, and that a good girl wouldn’t have extended her palm skyward in the first place. Yes, seriously. That’s the argument. Instead of praising Greer because she made the right decision to give the prescription drug back, Greater Clark County is punishing her for not being good enough.

On second thought, who can blame the school? Everyone knows that touching Aderall is a gateway drug. If River Valley Middle hadn’t intervened, Goddess only knows what drugs Rachel Greer might have gone on to fondle. I had a friend in high school who touched marijuana once – you know, because “the cool kids” were all doing it. Now he spends his days huddled under the Fremont Bridge in Seattle, gently caressing heroin baggies. Let this be a lesson to you, kids: Just Say No to drug molestation!


 OMG- coffee just came out of my nose, thanks Jay
   :shamrock:  :shamrock: .........
Danny............

[Anonymous]

I'm fucking telling ya, this town is going to shit.....head for da hills.
Can't just, "Say No" and "Give it Back" anymore, nope it's a crime to now.
 :shamrock:  :shamrock: .......
Danny.... :suicide:

[Joel]

Edited: Wednesday, October 06, 2010

[Whooter]

In all fairness the school needs to be consistent and draw the line if the policy is going to work.  If it is okay to just hold a drug then every time you are caught with drugs in your possession you could say “I was just holding them for someone else”  or ”someone gave these to me and I was just in the process of returning them… see mister principle the pill is still in my hand I was just returning it and letting the other kid know that I am saying no” or "I never actually touched the pill, I put on gloves first, so technically I didnt break the no tolerance rule"...... on and on until you need to hire a dozen lawyers to cover all the possibilities.

They need to send a clear message that you don’t carry or touch other peoples pills or meds of any kind.  Knowing the schools policy why would this student even accept the pill in the first place?  She screwed up when she touched the pill... she should learn from her mistake and not let it happen again,not blame the school for their policies!!  The school nurse should be dispensing these or they should left at home anyway.

I am sure every kid in that school will think twice before putting their hand out for drugs again lol.



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[Joel]

Edited: Wednesday, October 06, 2010

[Joel]

Edited: Wednesday, October 06, 2010

[Whooter]

If this happened during my day and 4 or 5 of us were standing around outside sharing a joint and we were nabbed by a teacher, all 5 of us would be suspended (or detention).  If there was one kid who was just there shooting the shit with us and not smoking it wouldn’t matter.  If he cried to his parents they would have told him he shouldn’t have been hanging out with us.  That’s what he gets.  We all took responsibility for what we did and weighed the risks, no one belly ached.  Just need to be more cool about it next time thats all.

The kid here “Rachel Greer” doesnt see that she needs to take responsibility and move on, but instead she tries to blame the school or the rules are unfair, Bathing herself in attention.  If they let her get away with it she will spend her whole life blaming others for her own mistakes.  Its in her best interest for her to learn the lesson now.



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[Joel]

Edited: Wednesday, October 06, 2010

[Whooter]

If this happened during my day and 4 or 5 of us were standing around outside sharing a joint and we were nabbed by a teacher, all 5 of us would be suspended (or detention). If there was one kid who was just there shooting the shit with us and not smoking it wouldn’t matter. If he cried to his parents they would have told him he shouldn’t have been hanging out with us. That’s what he gets. We all took responsibility for what we did and weighed the risks, no one belly ached. Just need to be more cool about it next time thats all.

During "your day and age" teachers did not have allot of common sense.  They assumed students were guilty by association.  Nevertheless, there are teachers who do this today.  It is harder to deal with incidents on a case by case basis.  This approach takes time and effort.  A vague Zero tolerance drug policy makes life easier on school officials.

I understand what you are saying, Joel, but the teacher has to make that decision.

So the teacher walks up to the group of 5 and says your all suspended.  4 of the kids say they were not smoking… should the teacher say “Okay you can go home”…  the 5th guy says he just saw this roach sitting there and never smelled pot before and was curious about what it smelled like so he picked it up.  But I never inhaled and was planning to report it.”  Should the teacher say “Okay you can go home too”?

The teacher cannot hold a trial and call witnesses. They were all there and there was a joint, they are in high school and they are all guilty by association, which is correct.  Otherwise they can all say they found the roach on the ground and were just about to report it to the principle.



...

[Joel]

Edited: Wednesday, October 06, 2010

[Anonymous]

If this happened during my day and 4 or 5 of us were standing around outside sharing a joint and we were nabbed by a teacher, all 5 of us would be suspended (or detention). If there was one kid who was just there shooting the shit with us and not smoking it wouldn’t matter. If he cried to his parents they would have told him he shouldn’t have been hanging out with us. That’s what he gets. We all took responsibility for what we did and weighed the risks, no one belly ached. Just need to be more cool about it next time thats all.

During "your day and age" teachers did not have allot of common sense.  They assumed students were guilty by association.  Nevertheless, there are teachers who do this today.  It is harder to deal with incidents on a case by case basis.  This approach takes time and effort.  A vague Zero tolerance drug policy makes life easier on school officials.

I understand what you are saying, Joel, but the teacher has to make that decision.

So the teacher walks up to the group of 5 and says your all suspended.  4 of the kids say they were not smoking… should the teacher say “Okay you can go home”…  the 5th guy says he just saw this roach sitting there and never smelled pot before and was curious about what it smelled like so he picked it up.  But I never inhaled and was planning to report it.”  Should the teacher say “Okay you can go home too”?

The teacher cannot hold a trial and call witnesses. They were all there and there was a joint, they are in high school and they are all guilty by association, which is correct.  Otherwise they can all say they found the roach on the ground and were just about to report it to the principle.



...

:shamrock:  :shamrock:
The teacher is not making the decision really, they are reporting the alleged infraction. Their superiors are making the decision. Maybe if the teacher chose to hear the whole story from the "student" not students and then relay that information to his superiors, well who knows maybe....... We don't know how that whole situation played out Whooter, so I understand your points we still don't know if she was caught off guard and what looked really guilty to the teacher was in fact just the teachers perception. I have been confronted with many things in my life that happened so quickly I realized afterward that maybe I would react differently next time. I don't believe that I should be punished because life just happened. We can project so many scenarios here it could drive us crazy.  
 :shamrock:  :shamrock: ..........
Danny.............

[Whooter]

I understand what you are saying, Joel, but the teacher has to make that decision.

So the teacher walks up to the group of 5 and says your all suspended. 4 of the kids say they were not smoking… should the teacher say “Okay you can go home”… the 5th guy says he just saw this roach sitting there and never smelled pot before and was curious about what it smelled like so he picked it up. But I never inhaled and was planning to report it.” Should the teacher say “Okay you can go home too”?

The teacher cannot hold a trial and call witnesses. They were all there and there was a joint, they are in high school and they are all guilty by association, which is correct. Otherwise they can all say they found the roach on the ground and were just about to report it to the principle.

You are making reference to an illegal drug.  Adderall, a prescription medication, is not illegal.  The young girl did not have intent to carry or distribute.  Therefor, she is not guilty of violating local, state or federal laws.  You are aware the parents have a legitimate case in court, yes?

I don’t think any of this discussion meant to reference intent to distribute or carry.  We are talking about kids who are asked to follow the rules of their school.  Whether it be Sexting, smoking pot, carrying drugs, wearing hooded sweat shirts, carrying a weapon, 6 inch knife or T-shirts with religious symbols.  If the rules are specific and the kids break the rules then they need to be held accountable.  If parents don’t agree they should attend the parent meetings and vote or place their kids in a different school.

Wouldn’t that be classic, though !  The parents end up on channel 6 news with their make-up on and jealous neighbors watching with them beaming and stating they were victorious with their law suit against the school while their daughter (who dropped out of school due to the intense media attention as her friends move onto college) stands in the background Clinging to her GED that she was just awarded and spending her life looking for opportunity to avoid responsibility and blaming others for all her “life” mistakes.  What a lesson she learned.  What an example her parents set for her.



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[Ursus]

How many times have you been hanging out with your friends and one of them says, "Stick out your hand," 'cuz they're gonna share some Good and Plentys with you or the like... Or that's what you think they're gonna share.

And you, unthinkingly, comply, putting out your hand. Indeed, why would one even think to do any different? I wouldn't have.

So the girl got something inappropriate in her hand, and she gave it back. This really should be a non-issue. Even if she knowingly received something inappropriate, in which case she probably thought better of it ... she still gave it back. In the latter case, maybe there are some admonitions to be handed out, but it still doesn't even approach giving her a week's suspension for "non-compliance" with her school's zero-tolerance drug policy.

Resorting to these kinds of draconian measures too many times will eventually backfire. Ultimately, parents will end up losing all respect for the school systems in question, perhaps even for public education per se across the country.

[Anonymous]

How many times have you been hanging out with your friends and one of them says, "Stick out your hand," 'cuz they're gonna share some Good and Plentys with you or the like... Or that's what you think they're gonna share.

And you, unthinkingly, comply, putting out your hand. Indeed, why would one even think to do any different? I wouldn't have.

So the girl got something inappropriate in her hand, and she gave it back. This really should be a non-issue. Even if she knowingly received something inappropriate, in which case she probably thought better of it ... she still gave it back. In the latter case, maybe there are some admonitions to be handed out, but it still doesn't even approach giving her a week's suspension for "non-compliance" with her school's zero-tolerance drug policy.

Resorting to these kinds of draconian measures too many times will eventually backfire. Ultimately, parents will end up losing all respect for the school systems in question, perhaps even for public education per se across the country.

:shamrock:  :shamrock:
I am amazed that folks here are not seeing the archaic measures of discipline used here. This doesn't even come close to rational, they way you (Whooter) are explaining your understanding of this article. Very closed minded and quick to judgment, of-course. You leave the situation plus yourself limited options, hence...Zero Tolerance.
Well home schooling does seem more appealing, never mind because of the lack of funding to schools, overcrowding situations, lack of up-to-date materials and supplies (due to lack of funding) and teachers pays at a all time low. No wonder they have Zero Tolerance, well lack of teachers with specialized training, lack of teachers, no hall monitors anymore and if they have them there using off-duty cops. Looks to me their trimming expenses and trying to make up for it elsewhere using "overkill". They don't have the money anymore to responsibly deal with a situation like this, I here detention is almost non-existent cost money to have teacher stay over-time. Better just to send them (students) home. Right the child is home really learning something, hanging out all day...what is even worse if this was a great kid academically, you probably have ruined her chances of being accepted at that great college she was going to go to, once they read about this in her transcripts. All because of a perception by a teacher and a policy administered because of lack of funds.
Hey.....The all American Way...No wonder America is so far behind in education, when I was in school they dealt with issues that arose in school...why because it was part of learning.
 :shamrock:  :shamrock:
Danny.....