LAW BANS CHILDREN FROM SHARING PRESCRIPTION DRUGS AT SCHOOL

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Farmington Senior High School Principal David Waters
watched as some students were hospitalized after taking prescription
medicines they shouldn't have, and he knew they needed help.

But it was tough to get them services through the juvenile justice system.

So he fought for - and succeeded in getting - a new law that specifically
makes it a crime for pupils to distribute prescription drugs to others, or
to possess them, no matter the type, on school property without a valid
prescription.

The legislation is one of many Missouri laws taking effect Sunday.

But it also has a wrinkle: Legislators passed, and the governor signed, two
versions of the measure, and they apply to different ages. That's among the
disparities in a handful of laws that legislators plan to resolve when they
meet for a special session early next month.

Meantime, the differences between the two versions could cause some
confusion for school officials and law enforcement.

One applies the prohibitions on possessing or distributing drugs while on
school property - public or private - to anyone younger than 21, while the
other applies to those less than 18 years old. Violators face a misdemeanor
charge, which escalates with repeat offenses.

The law exempts those authorized by school officials and emergency personnel.

Most school districts already have policies about prescription drugs, the
Missouri School Boards Association said. The main change the law will bring
is to allow school officials to go beyond academic punishment for those who
violate the policy.

Generally, even pupils who need their own medication hand it over to school
officials to dole out when needed, said Kelli Hopkins, an attorney and
director of education policy services for the association.

"It didn't change policy per se," she said. "The big difference might be
that because now there's a specific crime they can refer to, the district
could choose to report it to the police."

Waters said referring children to juvenile authorities gives them access to
counseling, drug treatment and other support services, along with
probation, where they could be tested to ensure they don't take the drugs
again.

"We weren't interested in seeing kids locked up necessarily, but there are
a number of things available by all of us working together," he said.

His eastern Missouri high school of 1,200 students had about a dozen
incidents with prescription drugs last year, he said, more than the school
faced regarding alcohol or marijuana.

"It's an emerging problem for us," he said.

The school board group, which creates sample policies for districts on
various topics, said about 290 of the state's 524 districts use its
service, though they may tweak the wording to fit local needs.

The association already has a policy on prescription drugs and general drug
and alcohol abuse. With the new law, Hopkins said, a line may be added
spelling out that possessing or distributing prescription medicine on
school property without a prescription could lead to criminal charges.

The discrepancy in applying the restrictions to those under 18 or those
under 21 really won't affect school discipline policies, which generally
apply simply to pupils, she said, but could affect the legal side.

For now, the association is telling districts they're safe referring
matters to law enforcement for those younger than 18 and that it's keeping
tabs on what lawmakers do.

Sen. Kevin Engler said Waters brought the idea to him and that a tough part
was convincing him and others the law didn't already cover such drug sharing.

"Nobody's thought through it and said, 'We've got this problem of legal
drugs being taken to school,' because the drugs themselves were not
illegal," said Engler, R-Farmington. "Some of these kids needed help. They
needed to be forced into ... taking treatment or seeking counseling."

Engler said the plan is to make the law apply to those younger than 21 to
ensure it covers everyone.

The Missouri Association of Secondary School Principals also said the law
will simply allow school officials to bring concerns to authorities as well.

"It probably aligns the state laws more with school policies," executive
director Jim King said.

King said determining at what age students fall under various criminal
provisions often arises at high schools.

"Principals fight that all the time in the gray issues. Are they really
under juvenile code or not? But for school policies they don't
distinguish," he said.

Prescription medicine policy is in SB254 and HB353.