Children caught with pot

[boulder]

FIVE children have been suspended from a Queensland primary school for smoking marijuana

 

The incident has stunned Premier Peter Beattie and sparked a police investigation into how they acquired the drugs.

 

Detectives attached to the Logan juvenile aid bureau will interview the children and their parents.

 

A bureau spokesman told The Sunday Mail that charges "could be laid against adults" over the matter.

 

Teachers discovered the Year 5 boys ? aged 9 and 10 ? in the toilets of Shailer Park State School in Brisbane's south with cannabis and home-made bongs.

 

Education Queensland was notified and immediately launched an investigation.

 

Three of the boys have since returned to school after serving five-day suspensions. A boy who brought the drugs and smoking implement to school was "permanently excluded" while another boy was suspended for 20 days.

 

Mr Beattie said he was stunned that children this young were using drugs ? and at school.

 

"It is outrageous," he said. "If they are getting it from home, then the parents have a lot to answer for. They have to take some responsibility here."

 

Education Minister Anna Bligh said she was horrified by the news.

 

"As a parent of a child in Year 5, I am outraged that children so young have drugs," she said. "It is every parent's nightmare to find out that their children are experimenting with drugs."

 

Alcohol and Drug Foundation spokesman Mark Brown said he had rarely heard of Queensland children as young as nine smoking pot.

 

"It is a major worry," said Mr Brown, who runs the Logan House drug rehabilitation centre. "I see many third and fourth-generation drug users. Almost all have started smoking marijuana from a very early age."

 

Mr Brown said drug use by pre-teens was extremely detrimental to their future health.

 

Shailer Park State School principal Marion McMahon described the incident as "very sad and disappointing".

 

"It does concern me that students are obtaining these things from home, that parents are allowing their children to gain access to these sorts of things," she said.

 

Ms McMahon said the two main offenders had been smoking the marijuana and three others were watching them when they were caught.

 

"It was a bit like show and tell ? kids being curious," she said. "They were escorted home by police. I don't know what happened from that point because it is a private matter between police and parents."

 

She said the school was now being portrayed "poorly and negatively" because a few parents had failed to supervise their children.

 

The Sunday Mail (Qld)

Edited October 25, 2003 by boulder

[Guest Babybear]

Man thats pretty bad makes you wounder hey

[Guest Wilderbud]

Yeah blame the parents - when I was young my parents had little influence over me so its stupid to point the finger at them. If you are not watching your kid 24/7/etc then other people will infulence them and it is wrong to watch kids 24/7 IMO.

 

Its fucked to also blame the kids for doing this - especially permanently ejecting the supplier [excluded from society now - hes probably not going to be happy about that]. Adults do not get excluded from society as quickly so why should children?

 

It would have been a better option to teach them that drugs and growing bodies dont mix well - truthfully. If other people are influencing them then all you have to do is counteract their advice IMO [or how about finding the suppliers supplier (even if the drugs were stolen from his/her stash) and incarcerating him/her immediately - that would work wonders].

[Guest IMPOSTOREO the stoner!NON-ME]

Thats fucked up, giving pot to 9 yr olds,thats what gives pot a bad name.

 

People need shit like that for excuses to create harsher penalties for recreational smokers.

 

We're gonna end up with crazy laws like America if we keep going in this direction

[Chev]

Well, luckily it's not something you hear about very often. Could've been anyone that gave them drugs, or the idea to smoke them anyway. Christ, in Fremantle and Perth I used to see youngsters, like 9, 10 yrs old so drunk they could barely walk. And that was a good......7 years, 8 years ago. Hated seeing the littlie aboriginal kids with the plastic bags of paint or solvents stuffed into their sleeves, totally bombed out of their brain. And I mean littlies, as in 7 or 8 yrs old. Just bloody copying what they saw the elder ones doin', some of those blackfellas should've been shot for leading their kids into that life. Not just them, plenty of white kids about doing it too.

And this bullshit about pointing the finger at the parents all the time when their kids end up with a drug or behavioural problem .........a lot of people I knew that went off the rails fully, especially after high school, came from good homes. Had decent parents. And I mean went off the rails, as in ended up heroin or speed junkies, not just the usual teenager behaving badly bullshit. Suprised at who fucked up, and who didn't

"It is a major worry," said Mr Brown, who runs the Logan House drug rehabilitation centre. "I see many third and fourth-generation drug users. Almost all have started smoking marijuana from a very early age

And Marijuana is NOT a gateway drug, if it was I would have been a gutter junkie by now. This is what pisses me off, attitudes like this are what's holding back the process of law reforms for cannabis in Australia.

[mush887]

oh well, at least the next generation will be more open about cannabis reform in the future which should lead to legalization sometime in the near future. Also I saw on TV sometime earlier this week that a 5 year old brought a bong to school for show and tell. So the future should be good for decriminilization. Pity the government didn't do anything about it earlier or else none of this would have happened. The smart idea would have been to make it like alcohol where you can only buy it if you are over 18 years old so the youngins can't get to it. so we have the government to blame for this. They don't do anything to prevent this yet they are so angry when it does happen.

[pipeman]

And Marijuana is NOT a gateway drug, if it was I would have been a gutter junkie by now. This is what pisses me off, attitudes like this are what's holding back the process of law reforms for cannabis in Australia.

I agree, but to an extent the laws MAKE it a gateway drug. I know the only time I've ever been offered harder drugs is when smoking pot. If pot wasn't criminal this association would die.

[Chev]

but to an extent the laws MAKE it a gateway drug.

And that's exactly the way the government wants it to stay. And I've honestly been offered harder stuff just as many times around people not using cannabis, than I have around those using it.

[Guest weekprik]

If you are not watching your kid 24/7/etc then other people will infulence them and it is wrong to watch kids 24/7 IMO.

mate were talking about a 7 yr old kid, not a 13 or 14 yr old,

 

 

 

The parents are to blame here for many reasons,

some of them include-

 

1) Where did they get the bong and weed from? I dont think anyone in their right mind would let their kids use a bong, or smoke MJ unless for a medical reason, eg- cancer and others.

(they got the MJ from their parents.)

 

2) How did these kids get to school? I know whenever I drop my 9 and 7 yo off at school, that I know what they have with them? and im pretty sure that i wouldnt let them go to school with drugs. And if the parents cannot contorl a 9 yr old then they dont deserve to have kids.

 

3) If I asked my 2 kids, I know that they wouldnt even know what mj is.

Parents that smoke in front of their kids are dumb maybe they will open thier mouths most kids of that age know not to say anything, but its still educating them on smoking MJ.

 

Oh and my kids are not angels either, my 7 yo is ADDHD,

My 9 yo is also addhd but is Autistic,

But these kids are like toddlers still I couldnt see my kids doing that, but hey thats prob what their parents said too.

 

Its about time the Law was made stricter for rec smokers and made legal for medical reasons.

 

 

Pretty sad anyways.

Edited October 26, 2003 by weekprik

[Guest Babybear]

And this is one of the reasons i dont see it been decrimed to quikly...

NOW i think its pretty fucken iratick that most ppl an Social workers think its fine to drink in front of your choldren as long as you not drivin nor so drunk its irisponsble..

I think its point of view , if you bring up you child with the right info some time it gives them more of a chance..i belive kids under 16 shouldnt smoke dope an pisses me off when here younger kids doin it.

 

U cant blame parents all time

 

for example my parents used to allways have a cask of wine in fridge , i was NOT aloud to have it an was told man time , Never WHY u shouldnt have it just No u cant... anyways i used to fill up a bottle with juice an add a shit load of goon an take it to school , that just silly Now i think that , But i belive That no way was my parents fault, the kids prolly poinched it from some where , Anyway with hearin all this shit makes me want a little safe or somethin lockable that i stash weed an other related shit in..

 

But then alcohole is so god dam bad an i knew Plenty of yr 7 Upwards that drank an so on (i was yr 7 then)

 

Alot of this shit now days im startin to think I dont want it legalized Never Just little more hmm flexibility for req an med smokers. 18+ of corse , Unfornatuly from my observation towns that are socialy excepted to weed are not towns alot of us would feel very compfy living in..

 

I saw a kid the other day no older then 14 i recon an the servo dude was askin him for weed , Thou called it somethin eles i knew was weed

cause all there is to do in that town was drink at pubs or get stoned How great hey

 

I also belive if they have towns that have more weedys then other should have more fasility for ppl under 26 or so, alot of the towns i mean just have nuffin therefore bord stoners.

 

Sorry off track.. Anyways its bad to hear that But because we dont know the Whole story cant go blaming them.

ive herd of places where the children smoke opium