Pubdate: Thu, 08 Mar 2007 Source: Cincinnati Enquirer (OH) Webpage: Copyright: 2007 The Cincinnati Enquirer Contact: http://enquirer.com/editor/letters.html Website: http://enquirer.com/today/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/86 Author: Sharon Coolidge POT-SMOKING FOSTER MOM FOUND GUILTY License Lost After Child-Endangerment Conviction A foster mother caught smoking pot in photographs in the presence of the two toddlers in her care will never again have a child placed with her after being convicted Wednesday of child endangerment. State law says any person convicted on the misdemeanor charge cannot be a licensed foster parent. Stephanie Edwards, 26, of Mount Washington, was in the process of adopting the 9-month-old and 1-year-old when she was arrested in September. The children have been taken from her. Hamilton County Municipal Judge Melissa Powers convicted Edwards on two charges of child endangerment and sentenced her to two years on probation, fined her $200 and ordered her to perform 200 hours of community service. Edwards also must submit to random drug testing during her probation and undergo any drug treatment recommended by the probation department. If she does not comply, she could land in jail for 180 days, Powers said. Powers said Edwards' pot smoking put the children at risk. "Using drugs is risky behavior," Powers told Edwards. "I just don't see that you were providing a loving, nurturing environment." Edwards' lawyer, R. Scott Croswell, had argued his client was smoking pot, but was not impaired and therefore did not put the children at risk. Assistant Hamilton County Prosecutor Stacy Lefton said Edwards put the child at risk simply by smoking the illegal drug. Croswell said he would appeal the conviction. Edwards was arrested after she took photos of herself and a boyfriend smoking marijuana at their home Sept. 18. The children were placed in Edwards' Mount Washington home by the Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services. She was a licensed foster parent in Hamilton County. Lefton said the couple was smoking marijuana after the children went to bed, but they woke up and came into the same room as the couple. One photo shows Edwards cuddling the 9-month-old girl, who had been in Edwards' care since she was born, according to authorities. When Edwards dropped off the pictures to be developed at an Anderson Township CVS, a lab employee called the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office to express his concern about what was in the photos. Croswell defended Edwards at the hearing. "Her children were taken from her, which is the true punishment," he said. "She wanted to be a mother to these young children. "Whether she made a mistake or not, to suggest she was less than a loving mother is not right," he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Steve Heath