On Tuesday morning police were called to an elementary school in Meriden, Connecticut, after a four-year old special needs student brought nine bags of marijuana to school with him.

The boy, who attends the grade school in a pre-kindergarten class, took out nine individually wrapped bags for marijuana from his pocket at snack time to share with the other kids, telling them he brought everybody snacks.

In response to the incident, the Meriden Schools Superintendent, Mark Benigni, held a press conference at 4:30pm, saying that the teacher noticed the incident right away, and it was handled quickly by staff and police. It is obvious that the child did not know what he was bringing to school.

Police said that the bags looked like they were portioned out for sale, and as of this afternoon said that they did not know where the child got the marijuana. Both the Department of Children and Families, and the Meriden Police have both opened an investigation.

External Links:
http://easthaddam.patch.com/articles/four-year-old-found-with-marijuana-at-meriden-school

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"Attention students! You may get off the floor and leave your classrooms now. Police and dogs have swept the campus and determined there is no marijuana in anybody's locker. What's that? Shooters? Oh, yeah, that was just a drill."

How far will some people go to protect our precious children from the scourge of drugs that don’t have bar codes?  As reported by Students for Sensible Drug Policy, how about terrorizing them with thoughts that their school is about to become the next Columbine massacre so you can clear the halls for a drug dog sweep?

(Hartford Courant) At Wolcott High School one morning this week, an urgent announcement crackled over the intercom: a threatening intruder was in the building and students were told to immediately take refuge in classrooms.

Doors were locked and police, with dogs, moved in. Students stayed huddled in classrooms where they were told to stay away from the windows.

But what sounded like a frightening situation was just a search for narcotics. Drug-sniffing dogs combed the school while students stayed in locked classrooms, believing that an attacker was roaming the halls.

Even after being pestered by shocked parents and civil libertarians, the school defended its terrorism in the name of safety for the children.

“We wanted to practice,” said Superintendent of Schools Joseph McCary.  ”After 10 minutes we say this is a drill and at that point we started a search for drugs,” McCary said. “We are providing a safe and secure nurturing environment.”

[S]chool board Chairwoman Patricia Najarian, added that she didn’t see a problem with the fake intruder story.  The drug search is “something that is good to do periodically. It says we don’t have drugs in the school,” she said. “Either way it’s a win-win. I know people get concerned … there seems to be an overreaction.”

McCary, the Wolcott superintendent, said they want to teach students to take their safety seriously, so making them think it was real was essential. “If you say it’s just a drill, would you move as quickly?”

I’m thinking that the next time you say there is a possible dangerous intruder in the school, students aren’t going to move as quickly because they’ll think it’s just a lame drug dog sweep.  Scaring kids about a real lethal threat in order to protect them from a hyped non-toxic threat makes as much sense as using terrorism as a diversion for a robbery.

Connecticut cops are facing the new decriminalization measures in their state that makes less than a half of an ounce of marijuana in the state a civil offense, worthy of a ticket for $150. Now Police Chief Anthony Salvatore of the Cromwell police force and the co-chair for the Connecticut Cheifs of Police Association says that it is a problem for police in the state since they do not have enough certified scales. The new legislation takes effect on July 1st and the police say they will need a surefire system for determining whether someone has more than a half an ounce of marijuana.

Read more from the original source:
Connecticut Police Need Certified Scales Due to Decriminalization

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Members of the Joint Standing Committee on Public Health on Tuesday, May 3, decided in favor of Governor’s Bill 1015, which amends state law to “authorize an individual to use marijuana for medical purposes as directed by a physician.”

Members of the Judiciary had previously endorsed the bill, which is backed by Gov. Dan Malloy, in April.

Lawmakers passed similar legislation in 2007 only to have the measure vetoed by then-Gov. Jodi Rell. Newly elected Gov. Dan Malloy has been a past supporter of medical marijuana law reform and is backing SB/Governor’s Bill 1015.

If enacted, Connecticut will become the sixteenth state since 1996 to authorize the state-sanctioned use of cannabis when recommended by a physician.

Please urge your member of the House and Senate to support this legislation by entering your zip code below.

Additional information regarding this hearing is available by contacting: Erik A. Williams, Executive Director, CT NORML, ewilliams@campaignswon.com, 860.805.3243.

Link:
Connecticut Lawmakers Moving Forward With Medical Marijuana Legislation

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