Lisa M. Phillips, 42, was charged Monday after police searched her home and allegedly found about a half pound of marijuana, Capt. Jeffrey L. Blatter said.
The girl, a student at Noah Webster Elementary School in Hartford, found six packets of marijuana in her jacket and reported it to school staff upon arriving Monday morning, police said.
Phillips was charged with risk of injury to a minor, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of more than 4 ounces of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. She was being held with bail set at $10,000.
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Now, how did the marijuana get into her pocket? At 6years old I don't think she was there to sell it for her mom and if the girl was the one who brought it to the attention of school staff then I doubt she was there intending to sell marijuana. Maybe her mom had hid it in her jacket at some point and forgot that it was there. Or maybe the girl found it and decided to put it in her pocket.As far as the "dangers" of marijuana go, the plant matter in her pocket really posed no threat to her or any other students. However, I do feel that the mom's priorities should be questioned here. A responsible marijuana user will find a secure and safe place to keep this drug out of sight and out of the hands of those they do not want to find it. Obviously there will be a few people who are not so responsible, or with whom circumstance seems to take the upper hand. This also goes for legal prescription drugs, alcohol, guns, and tobacco products that a parent does not want to be in the hands of their children.
What if a more dangerous prescribed drug like Oxycontin or Vicadin was found in her pocket? Drugs like these pose much more danger to a 6-year old than marijuana, and are much easier for a child to use (put in their mouth).
Would such a big deal have been made if this were the case? Would the mother's home have been searched? I am not sure of that. Either way, this is a story I am interested in seeing the outcome of. Hopefully this girl's family will not be destroyed over this incident.
Thanks to Micah Daigle.
3 comments:
That's Micah Daigle, not Diagle. ;-)
(He thanked me because I pointed out the article.)
And thanks for posting this Jon. I think you bring up a good point that it is unlikely such a spectacle would have been made of much more dangerous prescription drugs brought to school.
The real heart of the matter is: Why was this girl compelled to turn in her mother in the first place? At 6 years old, did she even know she was turning in her mother? Or was it literally an innocent show-and-tell?
Surely, it is inappropriate (in our society) for young chilren to be exposed to psychoactive drugs while their wee brains are developing. Perhaps the mother should have used more discretion.
But now this little girl is going to live the rest of her life harboring the guilt of (probably unintentionally) putting her own mother behind bars.
All in the name of "keeping our children safe from drugs".
Well put. And what is more detrimental to this girl's development? The fact that her mother smokes marijuana or that her mother may end up in prison?
Sorry about the the Diagle incident Mr. Daigle.... it was a typo... i swear it was.
All good points everyone.
In my opinion, I truly hope that the innocent child here did not turn her mother in; however, with that said, this situation was not her problem either which way. The mother should have been more careful. Even if the marijuana was not the mothers and someone who had entered the home placed the baggies in the child's coat, one would have to wonder what kind of person would do such a thing to the family knowing that she would be attending school and play and the like. I do not understand that. If you use pot, you normally put it somewhere safe even if you do not have children, but if have kids, I would imagine that you would take that extra step to place it somewhere even safer, afterall, to take it a step further, children are curious!
To go with 800 Pound Gorilla, good thoughts on the empta pill bottle!
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