BAD POT LUCK FOR D.C. PAGES

WASHINGTON -- The House quietly booted 11 pages this week after at least one
was caught with a small amount of marijuana, sources confirmed yesterday.
The pages were dealt with administratively, according to Capitol Police Lt.
Dan Nichols, a department spokesman.

They apparently were spared prosecution -- perhaps because the amount of pot
involved was minimal, sources said.

Nichols said the matter was "handled by the clerk of the House," whose
office did not return a phone call yesterday. House officials are
notoriously tight-lipped about the activities of pages, who are often about
16 years old.

"We don't comment on personnel matters," said John Feehery, spokesman for
House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.).

Pages, who are nominated by their congressional representatives for a school
year or semester, attend the Page School and are given chores in the House
or Senate that range from making deliveries to helping run the floor.

The 11 pages who were booted were sponsored by Republicans.

Roll Call's online edition reported yesterday that the teenagers were
pinched after a page from the Washington area brought other pages home with
her without adult supervision.

Roll Call said they toked up in the basement and then brought some pot back
to the congressional page dormitory -- where her roommate turned her in.

"That led to everyone involved being disciplined," Roll Call said.

The National Organization for the Reform Marijuana Law Reform offered the
dismissed pages summer internships.