POLICE: PARENTS PUSHED DOPE ON THEIR TEENS

ST. PETERSBURG -- (AP) -- A married couple was arrested after trying to get
their three teenage children to smoke marijuana with them and scolding one
child who refused, police said.

Scott Springer, 38, and Lori Springer, 39, were charged with felony child
abuse and possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, police said. They
were released from jail on bond Friday, a day after their arrest.

The couple has two sons, ages 15 and 16, and a 13-year-old daughter. They
were being cared for by a family friend after their parents' arrest.

"If a parent is offering or even trying to induce them to smoke marijuana,
that crosses the line into child abuse," said Elaine Fulton Jones,
spokeswoman for the state Department of Children and Families.

The couple's 16-year-old son refused the marijuana and was subjected to a
verbal tirade from his mother.

That led the youth to tell someone who informed child welfare investigators.

Police went to the couple's home and arrested them Thursday evening.

A marijuana cigarette, scales, clips, rolling papers and marijuana residue
in wooden and metal pipes were found in the family's home, police said.

Springer was convicted in 1987 of a lewd and lascivious act in the presence
of a child, according to Pinellas County court records. His wife has no
arrest record.