Pubdate: Tue, 16 Dec 2003 Source: Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) 3950.xml?oregonian?en Copyright: 2003 The Oregonian Contact: http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/324 Author: Mellisa L. Jones SANDY HIGH DISCIPLINES EIGHT OVER MARIJUANA Administrators, assuming that other students may smoke or possess marijuana, are reviewing procedures SANDY -- Eight Sandy High School students are suspended this week for possessing or smoking marijuana on campus. In several unrelated incidents over the past week, school staff found students smoking or possessing marijuana. Sandy High administrators say they would be reviewing their drug policies in response. The minimum punishment for possession or use is a five-day suspension and a drug counseling session. "I think they were unrelated, not all part of the same deal," assistant principal Rayburn Mitchell said Monday. On Thursday, three students were called into Mitchell's office after a staff member suspected the students of smoking marijuana one morning. Once the students were in his presence, Mitchell said, he could smell marijuana on their clothes. The same day, tips led to two more students being called into the office. Those two students reportedly had marijuana in their pockets. Earlier in the week, three other students were in trouble for marijuana. Police Chief Harold Skelton said Monday that he thought police had issued three or four citations; clearer information was not available because the officer who responded Thursday had not filed a report. "This was the biggest at any one time that we had ever seen," Mitchell said. Principal Jim Saxton said the staff is discussing what they can do to be more aggressive, including increasing education and punishment. "I do think there's probably more kids using, smoking pot," said Saxton. Mitchell said locker searches are also an option. "We have the freedom and the right to do that, but we haven't done it in quite a while," Mitchell said. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh