MARIJUANA, MOST COMMONLY ABUSED ILLEGAL DRUG IN COUNTY, SHOWS UP IN DRUG
TESTS OF SEVERAL TRUANT STUDENTS, JUDGE SAYS

At a recent truancy court hearing, Pct. 1 Judge Billy Ball decided to drug
test all eight students present. "I'd been thinking about it," Ball said.
"I wanted to see if there was a correlation. We didn't have a large group,
so we decided to test them all."

The testing, performed by juvenile probation, yielded results that
surprised the judge. "I was surprised 100 percent tested positive," he
said. "I thought maybe half. Is this the basis of truancy? I don't know.
But we will be doing more drug testing in the future."

Ball ordered the students and their parents to report to the Alcohol and
Drug Awareness Council of Deep East Texas for evaluation where, according
to Chris Logan, clinical director, counselors will perform interviews to
try to identify the problem, and based on the information gathered, will
decide whether education or a referral to a level of care is appropriate.
No drug charges were filed against the students who tested positive in
truancy court because they were not in possession of drugs at the time,
Ball said.

Marijuana may seem like an "old school" drug, but its popularity is still
going strong among today's youth. It is the most commonly abused illegal
drug in Angelina County, and 12th-graders here report a past 30-day use
average (21.1 percent) higher than the national average of 19.9 percent,
according to the most recent survey of students in grades 6, 8, 10 and 12
by The Coalition.

More than 80 percent of local seniors say the drug is "easy to get" in
Angelina County, according to the survey.

The average age of first use among Texas students is 13.5 years old,
according to the Texans Standing Tall Report Card, meaning most students
are in middle school when they first try the drug.

Long-term use of the drug can interfere with learning by impairing
thinking, reading, comprehension, verbal and mathematical skills, and can
have a permanent negative effect on attention span, concentration, memory,
judgment and logical thought, according to the Region 5 Prevention Resource
Center.

Although marijuana is a fairly inexpensive drug, getting caught with it can
add up to some serious money and/or jail time.

"Someone caught with less than two ounces, which is a Class B misdemeanor,
can be punished by up to 180 days in jail and/or up to a $2,000 fine," said
County Court at Law No. 1 Judge Bob Inselmann. "Depending on criminal
history and age, most likely they'll get anywhere from six months to a year
probation and pay a fine from $300 to $750." An offender will also pay
court costs of about $300 and $50 monthly probation fees, Inselmann said,
as well as have to undergo drug testing while on probation.

"A person caught with more than two ounces of marijuana, up to four ounces,
can be sentenced to up to a year in the Angelina County Jail and/or up to a
$4,000 fine," Inselmann said. "The typical plea bargain deal is a $750 fine
plus court costs and probation fees."