Virginia Middle School Students Suspended for Oregano Possession

The school administration at this Virginia school have really flipped a rivet. Adam Grass, and fellow seven grade students which total 3, at Hickory Middle School in Chesapeake, Va., were suspended last week after being caught with what teachers initially thought was a bag of marijuana but actually, all the bag contained was oregano. Unfortunately, the 4 boys now face expulsion and in the eyes of the administration, isn’t much of a difference between Italian herbs and Mary Jane.

School board member Christie Craig says Virginia has a zero-tolerance policy against “imitation controlled substances.” Yet Adam is a straight A student, and National Junior Honor Society candidate, achievements his father, Patrick Grass, doesn’t want to see go up in smoke all because of a childhood prank.

“I know times have changed, and you can’t do [just] anything in schools anymore,” Grass said. “But I think there needs to be a certain amount of common sense applied to their policies.”

aolnews

The elder Grass said that his son was just holding the bag for the friend, which now makes him an innocent spice trafficker. So the Grass family has sought legal council, and turned to the Charlottesville-based Rutherford Institute, which specializes in defending people who believe their human rights and civil liberties have been violated. John Whitehead, calls the oregano bust yet another case of an overenforced zero-tolerance policy.

“If you’re a good student and you have some oregano, they kick you out of school,” said Whitehead, who sent a letter on Friday asking the school to reverse its decision. “And it means you can’t go to the [college] you wanted to, because of oregano.” aolnews