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Police arrest 2 fifth-graders on drug charges

By Phungushead · Apr 24, 2009 · 2.1K · 9
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  1. Phungushead
    Police arrest 2 fifth-graders on drug charges

    Indianapolis - Police have made a drug bust involving two grade school students. One is ten and the other is 11 years old. They arrested two fifth graders for dealing marijuana in between classes at an Indianapolis school.

    The drug deal happened in Warren Township at Brookview Elementary. If it hadn't been for one of their classmates, the students may have gotten away with it.

    A student at Brookview Elementary blew the whistle on a drug deal at school. He says his two classmates sold and bought marijuana to each other.

    Parents who live near the school are shocked.

    "You wonder where these kids get this nowadays. You look at parents, you look towards older siblings," said James Wood, parent.

    "I wonder where they get it at and I would say there are better things to be doing," said Elizabeth Boston, parent.

    The drug deal happened around 10:00 am Tuesday. The student witness watched as the 10- and 11-year-old fifth graders exchanged cash for a green leafy substance. Officers confiscated 1.88 grams of marijuana which tested positive.

    Other parents are curious what made them believe they could deal drugs at school.

    "Ten- and 11-year-old kids want to be like people they see on TV. It's got something to do with the money, the bling," said Cedric Burnett.

    School police brought both the students to juvenile detention. Their principal, Timothy Hanson, says both boys admitted to the drug deal. Now both fifth graders are charged with dealing in marijuana and possession of marijuana, both felonies.

    "Why does your child have drugs? That's crazy," said Boston.

    "School is supposed to be someplace safe to learn and grow up and not have to deal with the drugs and guns," said Wood.

    The principal suspended both students from school as they continue to investigate the incident. Part of the investigation will consider where the fifth grader who was selling the drugs got it from in the first place.

    Principal Timothy Hanson notified parents using their emergency notification system. The 10- and 11-year-old could get kicked out of school for the rest of the school year.

    April 23, 2009 07:15 AM
    Steve Jefferson/Eyewitness News

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  1. Gradient
    Now there's a slippery slope for ya. I've gotta say, 10-11 years old is pretty damn young for cannabis. That high-school is in a nasty situation. Kicking kids so young out of school for something they can hardly even appreciate clearly isn't appropriate and wont solve a thing, but how to satisfy the outraged parents? I have to admit that the question of whether or not the transaction involved a fat half-eighth or a short 2 grams came up - but that's beside the point. This story can't end nicely...
    Gradient, Apr 24, 2009
  2. Greenport
    That's not very smart - 5th graders shouldn't be using pot because their mind is still developing. It should be something for adults and in all cases it needs to be used responsibly.

    Nonetheless this story had to happen sooner or later. It always does.
    Greenport, Apr 24, 2009
  3. Kelveren

    That's not a high school. It's an elementary school, which means the children there are between the ages of 5 and 11 with very few exception.

    Now, I'm all for legalization and regulation, but that's just too young. I've read around here about studies showing that early marijuana use has a definite negative impact on cognitive potential. I don't know about 21, but 18/19 as a minimum age for the use to be legal.

    Imho, children should not be using drugs, not even prescription drugs that alter brain chemistry, until at -least- after puberty. Anything before that is asking for brain damage of some form or another.
    Kelveren, Apr 25, 2009
  4. Gradient
    Good point! Even nastier situation!
    Gradient, Apr 26, 2009
  5. sylvanshia
    It may sound crazy but in my younger friends school about 12 years ago he witnessed 3 2nd graders toking it up in a bathroom. He didnt report it he says its probaly just cus the school is in a seriously rough neighborhood and its suprising how many young kids are smoking weed by middle school.
    sylvanshia, Apr 27, 2009
  6. blipblop
    This whole thing is ridiculous, this shouldn't be about whether or not 11 year olds "should" be doing pot or not, it should be about making sure these kids don't have their entire futures ruined. They weren't bringing guns into the school, they weren't bringing *dangerous* drugs into the school, and it doesn't sound like they were pressuring anyone into buying anything. If this had been a pack of cigarettes or a bottle of vodka these kids wouldn't have been taken off to juvenile detention, and a lot of studies show that pot is less harmful than those 2 legal drugs.
    So now these kids are on felony charges and are suspended from school, how is that going to help? Shoving them into the criminal justice system is only going to screw them up and expose them to older criminals. Giving them criminal records will just hurt their chances of earning money at a decent job when they're older. Kicking them out of school for any period of time is just going to socially isolate them and prevent them from getting an education and having a decent future.
    Geez, just tell them not to do it, withhold their pocket money for a while and then let them move the f*** on with their childhoods.
    blipblop, Apr 27, 2009
  7. Greenport
    SwiM's cat still believes in his opinion that these kids should not be smoking pot, however (and this is very important) this should NOT used as an argument against decriminalization.

    Why? Because the system we have currently allows kids to get marijuana easier than if it were regulated! It is notably harder for kids to get tobacco and alcohol than it is for them to get marijuana, at least from a store. When they do manage to get it, it is usually the result of them stealing it from their parents or someone else getting it for them - in both cases there are usually fingers that can be pointed.

    With marijuana though, there is no regulation regarding the sale of the drug to minors. Yeah sure some places will prosecute harder if selling drugs to a minor but still, the drugs are in the hands of people who give no crap about age. If it were sold in a regulated manner, at least there would be some kind of system put into place to make sure that it wasn't being sold to kids from stores.
    Greenport, Apr 28, 2009
  8. gozerblazer
    Swim is in a group of court ordered drug classes for teenagers.... This honestly in swim's opinion really isn't all that bad compared to these other teens in the group who all for the most part started smoking and huffing at around the age of 9, except for swim who started at 15. In swim's opinion early drug use is a VERY bad idea. these kids can't hardly think or even read.. As for the issue with leagalization....swim believes it should be the sames age as cigarettes
    gozerblazer, Jul 17, 2009
  9. Sven99
    The reason we need legalisation and regulation is because of things like this. The legal and controlled market is set up with keeping drugs out of the hands of minors as a primary goal. When I was in secondary school there were quite a few kids selling pot, and it was a lot easier to get than booze and smokes. My pet hamster had a friend who worked as a courier at 13 and made a lot of cash.
    Sven99, Jul 19, 2009
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