vex
03-23-2004, 11:52 AM
hxxp://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/8252640.htm
Kid's green lunch spice wasn't oregano -- it was pot
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A kindergartner found sprinkling his friend's food with marijuana at a Miami-Dade public school sparks questions from police and social workers.
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BY TERE FIGUERAS
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[email protected]
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A kindergartner's scattering leafy greens onto his friend's lasagna piqued a cafeteria worker's interest Monday and prompted a police investigation at a North Miami-Dade elementary school.
The mystery ingredient: marijuana.
Both students, the small plastic bag containing the green vegetable matter and the pot-laced entrée were marched to the front office at Gratigny Elementary.
The students eventually returned to class. But now the family of the kindergartner who had the marijuana is under the scrutiny of schools police and state child-welfare authorities.
''The boy is not going to be charged,'' said Mayco Villafaña, spokesman for Miami-Dade County Public Schools. ``The focus is on the child's environment and what issues could have led to a child having a bag of marijuana in school.''
The kindergarten class was just settling down with their lunchboxes and cafeteria trays midday at the school at 11905 N. Miami Ave.
''A cafeteria monitor observed a 5-year-old sprinkling some green particles on the lasagna of another 5-year-old,'' Villafaña said. ``The monitor approached the boy and noticed he had dropped the bag and was trying to hide it with his feet.''
The monitor confiscated the lasagna before the student could eat it.
Initially, the boy ''may have said it was oregano,'' Villafaña said.
But detectives with the schools police field-tested the lasagna's topping and confirmed that it was pot.
The amount was 'less than what we call a `nickel bag,' '' said Sgt. Carlos Fernandez of the schools police. A nickel bag is approximately half a gram.
According to the Miami Poison Information Center, a child exposed to small amounts of marijuana could experience symptoms consistent with low-level intoxication.
Schools police took the matter to the state attorney's office.
''The final analysis was to hold the boy [faultless],'' said Villafaña, adding that it was unclear whether the kindergartner even knew he was carrying marijuana. ``That's hard to confirm with a 5-year-old.''
In addition to speaking with the boy's family, police are looking into whether an older friend asked the boy to hold the plastic bag. The case was also referred to Florida's Department of Children & Families, Villafaña said.
After speaking with police, the boys were allowed to return to their kindergarten class. Both sets of parents were contacted about the police inquiry.
And the uneaten lunch-turned-evidence? ''The material was analyzed,'' Villafaña said. ``And then the lasagna was disposed of.''
Kid's green lunch spice wasn't oregano -- it was pot
http://www.miami.com/images/common/spacer.gif
A kindergartner found sprinkling his friend's food with marijuana at a Miami-Dade public school sparks questions from police and social workers.
http://www.miami.com/images/common/spacer.gif
BY TERE FIGUERAS
http://www.miami.com/images/common/spacer.gif
[email protected]
http://www.miami.com/images/common/spacer.gif
<!-- begin body-content -->
A kindergartner's scattering leafy greens onto his friend's lasagna piqued a cafeteria worker's interest Monday and prompted a police investigation at a North Miami-Dade elementary school.
The mystery ingredient: marijuana.
Both students, the small plastic bag containing the green vegetable matter and the pot-laced entrée were marched to the front office at Gratigny Elementary.
The students eventually returned to class. But now the family of the kindergartner who had the marijuana is under the scrutiny of schools police and state child-welfare authorities.
''The boy is not going to be charged,'' said Mayco Villafaña, spokesman for Miami-Dade County Public Schools. ``The focus is on the child's environment and what issues could have led to a child having a bag of marijuana in school.''
The kindergarten class was just settling down with their lunchboxes and cafeteria trays midday at the school at 11905 N. Miami Ave.
''A cafeteria monitor observed a 5-year-old sprinkling some green particles on the lasagna of another 5-year-old,'' Villafaña said. ``The monitor approached the boy and noticed he had dropped the bag and was trying to hide it with his feet.''
The monitor confiscated the lasagna before the student could eat it.
Initially, the boy ''may have said it was oregano,'' Villafaña said.
But detectives with the schools police field-tested the lasagna's topping and confirmed that it was pot.
The amount was 'less than what we call a `nickel bag,' '' said Sgt. Carlos Fernandez of the schools police. A nickel bag is approximately half a gram.
According to the Miami Poison Information Center, a child exposed to small amounts of marijuana could experience symptoms consistent with low-level intoxication.
Schools police took the matter to the state attorney's office.
''The final analysis was to hold the boy [faultless],'' said Villafaña, adding that it was unclear whether the kindergartner even knew he was carrying marijuana. ``That's hard to confirm with a 5-year-old.''
In addition to speaking with the boy's family, police are looking into whether an older friend asked the boy to hold the plastic bag. The case was also referred to Florida's Department of Children & Families, Villafaña said.
After speaking with police, the boys were allowed to return to their kindergarten class. Both sets of parents were contacted about the police inquiry.
And the uneaten lunch-turned-evidence? ''The material was analyzed,'' Villafaña said. ``And then the lasagna was disposed of.''