SCHOOLS FOCUS ON DRUG POLICY VIOLATIONS

About a year or so ago, a student in a Downriver school district
decided she would help a fellow classmate who was having problems
"focusing" in class by offering him her brother's prescription drugs.

She charged him $5 for two tiny pills generally used for patients
under psychiatric care, and he took them.

But by the time he reached home, he lost more than his focus: He lost
consciousness and his mother rushed him to the hospital.

A battery of tests was conducted before discovering what the boy had
actually taken. He almost died, and the girl, a student at Huron High
School, was expelled.

Officer Keith Nickrand, a police liaison for the Huron School
District, still recalls the story with disbelief. He said neither the
students nor the girl's parent thought they did anything wrong.
Nickrand cringes just thinking about what could have happened.

Most Downriver school districts have a strict policy on how and when
medicines can be taken and the consequences of sharing them with
other students. Many not only let students, but also parents, know
how dangerous and costly drug abuse in school can be.

Last week, several middle school students in a Downriver district
were suspended when they allegedly were caught selling prescription
drugs from home.

According to Nickrand, the three most popular prescription drugs
targeted by students are Vicodin, Darvocet and Xanax.

While most district officials say they do not have a "problem" in
their districts with illegal drug use, almost all say they have dealt
with it in some form. It is a situation many are taking a proactive
approach on in order to make sure it doesn't reach problematic status.

Charlene Coulson, superintendent in the Flat Rock School District,
said a number of things are done during the school year to educate
students on the harm sharing drugs can do.

"First of all, we work closely with the Police Department, who are in
(our schools) often with presentations," Coulson said. "Secondly, we
work with them on periodic dog searches. Our kids are really good and
we usually don't have any problems. I think a lot of that has to do
with them knowing about the searches."

Barbara Lott, superintendent in the Woodhaven-Brownstown School
District, said the subject is discussed at length within the
administration and with students. It is stressed that prescription
drugs are specifically for the individual whose name is on the medicine.

"We have a medication policy and we explain how to take it safely in
school," Lott said.

Within the last couple of years, Lott said there have been a few
students suspended for improper drug use, but there have been no
infractions severe enough to warrant expulsion.

Trenton Public Schools Supt. John Savel utilizes the district's nurse
as a means to offer health and science information to students. He
said students have been exposed to a number of topics, including
making good choices in relation to drug use.

"I think that really helps us out," Savel said.

The superintendent said he recognizes that sometimes students make
poor decisions.

Prescription drug infractions are treated like any other type of
drug, such as marijuana, in Savel's district. He said students could
face a minimum 10-day suspension for violating the district's drug
policy, but the penalty for selling drugs could be much more severe.

Nickrand said it is imperative that parents, grandparents and other
relatives keep a close watch on their medicines. He said the age of
students who cross the line with prescription drugs is getting
younger and younger.

"It's scary," he said. "It seems like the middle school age is the
turning point where they want to try things."

The liaison officer said there isn't a school district Downriver that
hasn't had to deal with these types of issues, along with the rise in
students overdosing on cold medicine to get a high.

Many pharmacies have taken certain cold medicines, such as Coricidin,
off the shelves to make it a little more difficult for youngsters to abuse.

"Kids are always thinking of ingenious things," Nickrand said.

Improving the rapport students have with staff members has been
helpful in this respect for Huron, he said, adding that when students
see improper things happening, they feel comfortable going to a staff member.

"And at-risk kids know this," Nickrand said.

He said he hopes parents understand this issue is not a problem of
only one individual or one school district. He said it's a basic
societal problem that requires the attention of school districts everywhere.

While the liaison officer knows there are some students who think
they are invincible, he has a warning for them: "You're not going to
go too far if you're dead."