LAWYER: FOSTER MOM NOT HIGH

Says Pot Use Alone Not A Threat To Kids

A foster mom charged with child endangering after pictures showed her
smoking marijuana around an infant and toddler in her care admitted
Monday she smoked the drug, but her attorney argued drug use alone
does not put a child at risk.

Attorney R. Scott Croswell III said there's no proof Stephanie
Edwards was impaired and unable to care for the two babies.

Ohio law says no one having custody or control over a child should
create a substantial risk to the safety or health of a child.

At issue is whether marijuana use alone creates that risk. Hamilton
County Municipal Court Judge Melissa Powers must make that decision.

Assistant Hamilton County Prosecutor Stacy Lefton says yes, simply
using the drug around children places them at risk.

Croswell says no, just using marijuana doesn't necessarily mean a
person is impaired.

Croswell and Lefton will submit written arguments to the judge, who
will make a decision March 7.

"It's a legal question whether the simple act of smoking marijuana
places a child in danger," Croswell said. "In my mind, the simple act
of smoking marijuana has to be distinguished from being high on marijuana."

Croswell likened smoking marijuana to drinking a beer or taking a
narcotic-based prescription drug. Both can be done around children
without harming them.

"I believe the mere fact of ingesting alcohol and/or drugs - whether
legal or illegal - does not endanger a child," Croswell said. "It's
only child endangering if you are impaired as a result of the
consumption of these substances."

Edwards, 26, was charged with two counts of child endangerment after
she took photos of herself and boyfriend smoking marijuana at their
home on Sept. 18.

The children, ages 9 months and 14 months, were placed in Edwards'
Mount Washington home by the Hamilton County Department of Job and
Family Services. She was a licensed foster parent in Hamilton County.

Lefton said the couple were smoking marijuana after the children went
to bed, but they woke up and were brought into the same room as the couple.

One photo shows Edwards cuddling the 9-month-old baby girl who has
been in her care since she was born, according to authorities.

A Hamilton County sheriff's detective said the baby is pictured in
about 80 percent of the photographs, including a photograph where
Edwards is holding a bong to her mouth and has a lighter over the pipe.

When Edwards dropped off the pictures to be developed at an Anderson
Township CVS, a lab employee called the Hamilton County Sheriff's
Office to express his concern about the nature of the photographs.

Sheriff's detectives interviewed Edwards on Sept. 20 at her
workplace, the Jelly Bean Junction Learning Center on Clough Pike.
She has since been fired from that job.

She was arrested and has been released without bond on her promise to
attend all court hearings, court records show.

Croswell said that according to police reports Edwards smoked
marijuana Sept. 18. She wasn't interviewed until Sept. 20.

"There is no proof she was impaired," Croswell said.

The children were immediately removed from Edwards' care, and no
other children have been placed with her, said Brian Gregg, a
Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services spokesman.

Gregg said Edwards remains under investigation pending the outcome of
the case. "If she's convicted, she'll be ruled out as a foster
parent," he said. "If not, just the fact that she smoked pot would
not rule her out as a foster parent."

However, she would likely have to undergo a drug and alcohol
assessment and seek treatment, Gregg said.