My son took a pill on Thursday at school. It was called Seroquel. 100mg. a Anti-psycotic given to him by a girl who got it from another girl, who got it from her mom's supply...

Anyway, he almost fainted at school, the girl came forward and said she had given Chris a pill, I took him to the hospital, I cooperated fully with the school and gave them the report showing he took this...

He is suspended three days and must go to an alternative school for a full semester, meaning next year he must stay in the school during his first year at high school. BTW, he's 14. The punishment would have happened whether I turned over the information and cooperated or not...

Now there's a police investigation and everything will be turned over the DA to determine whether there will be charges filed.

My ex thinks I handled this wrong, he thinks I shouldn't give them any information or cooperate...

Now the School police are saying they need to get his statement. I asked if this was mandatory, they said no. They will turn all information over to the DA and said the more he cooperates the more it helps. My ex thinks the opposite, he thinks I should not let him give a statement...

Please vote...Yes, Give the statement...No, don't give it...

Thanks!

ANNA

Yes. Give the statement.

If you can afford it, I'd check with an attorney familiar with family law. Of course, that's only if there's any way that the statement can be used against your son.

Call me old-fashioned but I vote for "honesty is the best policy".

The girl was distributing prescription drugs at school. This is big time no-no.

I'd check with the attorney and probably cooperate.

I trust that he is not the only student being investigated in the matter.

Contact and atty..and ask for opinion...

But My opinion is help as much as you can..

Contact an attorney and ask for help. I vote for honesty, and the other girl should be suspended, and the mother should be incooperated in this scenario. Attorney is needed for many reasons.

Thanks for the votes. I haven't decided yet and I am going to try to talk to an attorney but money is limited.

When my ex was in school something similar happened with him. It didn't have to do with drugs but still his family opted for honesty the other teens parents opted to hire attorneys and he was the only one who got in trouble in the end, the other kids got off....So I am sure he is that is sticking in his mind...

Thanks and I appreciate all the advice.

Cinderella,

Yes the other children are being investigated, I was told that sadly, the girl who obtained it from her parents meds may not have anything at all happen to her as she didn't distribute it in school so it will be up to the DA to prosecute and with a lot of hear-say evidence, if she doesn't fess up, nothing may happen....

Thanks again!

ANNA

Get a good attorney if you decide to cooperate with the investigation. You don't know where their questions could lead.

I vote for the attorney, because you never know what they will put on a school record.

second, i hope your son is being taught a lesson that he never ingests anything that he doesn't know what it is. . . .

there is a bunch of police programs here to teach drug resistance, and really, the more information a child gets, the more curiouser the child gets, not as good as just the basic belief: if you don't eat it at home, you don't eat it out. PERIOD.

and one does not smoke anything, and when someone gets older, they can drink, but responsibly. And my kids have maybe once seen me drunk, but i am not sure when that was. . . hung over once, i think, not drunk

wiftty

Wifft,

I hope he has learned a lesson. So far he shows signs of learning a lesson...here's how he has changed since....

His hair was not long but was not the style that I saw was a good reflection of character...yesterday he had me take him and he cut it to a normal boy/man cut...

second, he has confessed so much to me, more than I would say on here...I asked him Why he confessed so much to me..he said, "So there will no longer be secrets and it will be much harder for me to hide anything from you in the future."

He has been suspended for two days, I gave him chores, he not only did them but excelled in the ones I gave him and then added extra chores...These chores are repaying me for expenses incurred through this...

One thing also, all his teachers in conference said he is and always has been a very respectful student to authority. I have always stressed we respect authority.

Well, this has really stressed me...

Night...
ANNA

<small>[ May 12, 2003, 09:49 PM: Message edited by: Anna2000 ]</small>

Talk to a lawyer, fast, even if it's just one of those free 30 minute consultation deals or something similar.

By the sounds of things, you haven't been legally forced to give a written statement (no one has been placed under arrest, right?), and I tend to fear that a written statement can bring more problems than solutions at this point. Don't give them ammo they don't have or proof they don't have.

I am downright amazed that a single occasion of drug use at school means that your son has not only been suspended, but also has to attend an entire term at another school. Where do you live, if you don't mind my asking?

When a student is caught under the influence of drugs or alcohol where I teach, the consequence ranges from suspension to forced attendance of a drug and alcohol awareness program (a series of sessions outside school hours), to a couple of months in a different school/counselling program (and this is what REPEAT offenders or proved drug or alcohol abusers generally are forced to do), to expulsion. Generally expulsion is the case if they are traficking.

JHMO,

Jen

Anna,

sounds like a great lesson learned. . . i think he will be fine. . . his reactions are good ones. . .

you are doing well. . .

wiftty

Anna, Went through something very similar with my 15 year old niece, who was living with me at the time. A friend gave her Paxil, an antidepressant, which she stole from her mother's supply. My niece was feeling really sick so I took her to the ER where they made a big deal of it, and scared her badly (a good thing under the circumstances). I was honest with the school. My niece was suspended for a week, as were a couple of other kids who'd taken the pills, and the girl who brought them to school was expelled.

I say, be cooperative, but watch out for your son's best interest. I know that schools crack down on drug use, but kids ahve alwasy done stupid things, and often there are other issues that need to be addressed, rather than just treating them like they're "bad."

jen questions why such a harsh penalty for a first offence? Because its necessary. illegal drug use in schools should be given ZERO tolerence, there's way too much of it going on, it disrupts the learning process and it sucks in otherwise good kids by creating peer pressure. PARENTS that say" my kids not doing that" and defend them only compound the problem, take off the blinders and really look at the situation if your ever confronted with a drug problem, when they get caught dont kid your self and believe its the first time MY kid ever did drugs, because usually its not, be REAL. My parents fought with my brother about a drug problem all through high school, my mom kept believing that THIS TIME my son got the message, he didnt.All the warning signs were there, and mom was either too stupid or too blind to the facts, today my brother is a 40 year old Ex drug adict and a practicing alcholic who has nothing, and wanders from job to job and is sometimes homeless. He's smarter than me, he got better grades and had all the hottest girls in school, his future looked BRIGHTER than mine, but DOPE ruined his life, dont allow this to happen to your kids, BE REAL, and PAY ATTENTION.

Anna -- It sounds like you are handling this very well and that your son is learning a very painful lesson. The last thing you want is for the prosecutor's office or any judge hearing the case to get the impression that you are one of those parents who protect their kids from the consequences of their own actions or feel above the law. I think law enforcement folks throw the book at kids like that because they don't believe that the kids are showing remorse or "getting the message" at home.

A reputable lawyer with experience in this area would be a huge help, but IMHO a bad lawyer could actually make things worse. Have you tried having some very candid conversations with the DA's office and the school? Can you convey to them how upset you are by your son's error and how hard you are working to be sure he never makes this kind of mistake again? If they know that YOU are handling the matter I think they are much less likely to think that the judical system needs to step in. After all this sounds like one lapse in judgement, not as if your son was running a large scale drug ring for goodness sake!

Good luck!

Anna2K,

My Mom used to take seraquil (sp?) - for side effects of Parkinson's. I really don't think it does very much - but I think she was taking a lighter dose. I would be really surprised if just one of those pills had the effect you describe. Is it possible he took something else too - or more than one of them? The drug in this case was highly unlikely to do anything "fun" for your son. I would think that just getting seriously ill and not getting any "high" would be enough punishment. But, I understand that a strong stand by the school might reduce the chance of problems - including more serious side effects. Your son seems to be getting the message and making a right turn.

-AD

I read everyones post and appreciate all the help!

Chris, On that link, I don't know much about the site but it almost looks like one of those rags you see in the grocery store...I don't buy for a minute that Matt Lowery is punching a time clock...but thanks for your post.

I have an update on another thread. This just isn't getting better yet.

ANNA

I don't know about the site, but Al Roker did call the school on his daughter. The rest of the info is probably pretty bogus.