Pubdate: Wed, 10 May 2006
Source: Journal Gazette, The (IN)
Copyright: 2006 The Journal Gazette
Contact:  http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/908
Author: Sheena Dooley
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

POLICE MAKE BIGGEST SCHOOL MARIJUANA BUST IN MEMORY

A tip from a student led Fort Wayne Police to the  largest amount of 
marijuana they could remember  confiscating in a school.

A 16-year-old male student faces felony possession of  marijuana and 
possible expulsion after police and  officials from the Ward 
Education Center, a Fort Wayne  Community Schools alternative school, 
found almost 4  pounds of the drug in his locker May 2.

The marijuana, valued at an estimated $10,000, was  contained in five 
extra-large Ziplock bags. The student  was arrested and taken to the 
Allen County Juvenile  Center, according to a police report. Like 
police,  neither district officials nor a national school safety 
expert could recall a similar incident.

"In my 20-plus years, that has to be one of the largest  amounts, if 
not the largest amount, of marijuana  confiscated from an individual 
in a school," said  Kenneth Trump, president of the Cleveland-based 
National School Safety and Security Service, which has  worked with 
Fort Wayne Community Schools on safety  issues. "A majority of kids 
don't have drugs, but those  that do usually have small amounts on them."

After being tipped off, Ward Education Center staff  notified two 
Fort Wayne Police officers working  security at the school, which 
targets middle- and  high-school students who have been expelled or 
have other behavioral problems. Police searched a locker  that had a 
"strong odor of marijuana" coming from it  and found the "green leafy 
substance" in a backpack,  the report said.

Doug Coutts, FWCS' chief operations officer, declined  comment on the 
incident but said disciplinary action  could range from suspension to 
expulsion. Normally, a  student's past disciplinary problems factor 
into the  extent of their punishment.

In addition to prevention programs, schools in the  district perform 
routine unannounced searches of  backpacks and sweeps of parking lots 
to deter students  from bringing drugs on campus, Coutts said.

Because schools reflect the community at-large,  problems with drugs 
and alcohol among students are not  unusual, Trump said. Recently, 
drug and gang activity  has increased in schools across the U.S. 
because funds  for prevention and intervention programs are being 
diverted elsewhere, he added.

"It's a rollercoaster," Trump said. "Some people have  the view that 
there has been a cure. Rarely is the  problem cured, and it tends to 
come back even  stronger."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman