MEQUON STUDENT DISCIPLINED AFTER DRUG SICKENS HIS FRIEND

Mequon -- A Homestead High School student has been disciplined by the
school following his arrest for passing out a drug that sent a classmate to
the hospital, officials said Monday.

The 15-year-old Mequon boy told investigators that he had learned about the
drug on the Internet.

The drug, dextromethorphan, is derived from codeine. It is legal and is
used in cough medicines to suppress coughs, police said. But when taken in
larger doses, it can produce feelings of intoxication, hallucinations,
nausea and vomiting.

"If this individual is giving or selling drugs such as this, they can be
arrested for possessing look-alike drugs," Mequon police Detective Dennis
Burch said.

According to Mequon police:

The boy's mother said her son had obtained the drug through a mail-order
service based in North Carolina. She told investigators that she thought
she had taken all of the drug away from her son.

On Feb. 11, the boy split the drug into two packages and gave one to his
14-year-old friend. That boy was taken to St. Mary's Hospital Ozaukee after
he took the drug and passed out. School officials say he recovered quickly.

John Box, the Mequon-Thiensville school superintendent, said Monday that
the school immediately suspends students who are caught with illicit drugs.

"We treat this drug as we would a controlled substance," Box said. "If a
student is involved with a drug that creates this type of reaction, it's a
serious situation."

Students caught with drugs at school face suspension on their first
offense. If students are caught again, or are attempting to pass on drugs
to others, they face expulsion, Box said. He would not say what action the
board might take in this case.

"We're in the process of dealing with the discipline for these students,"
Box said.

Box characterized the incident as serious but rare in Mequon schools.

"I'd be naive if I said some of our students aren't involved in these types
of things," Box said. "Fortunately, incidents at the school are few and far
between.

"But when they do occur, we deal with them seriously. We want to send a
message to kids to stay away from drugs."

The boy who obtained the drug has been referred to Ozaukee County Social
Services.