MARIJUANA DEBATE LEADS TO PROTEST, SUSPENSIONS AT WAWOTA
SCHOOL

What began as a discussion about the effects of marijuana ended in
Wawota last week with a protest, a school lockdown, and the suspension
of two students.

Fifteen-year-old Kieran King and his 14-year-old brother Lucas were
suspended from school last week after a string of events that
culminated in members of Saskatchewan's Marijuana Party coming to
Wawota to protest outside the school.

It all began about six months ago when Kieran started doing research
on the medical effects of marijuana. He began telling his fellow
students that marijuana has not been proven to be more harmful than
alcohol or tobacco, and that in fact it does have some medical
benefits, such as nausea relief for chemotherapy patients.

Kieran says he does not smoke, drink, or do drugs--he says he was only
talking about marijuana because he became interested in the subject.

"That's part of who I am," he says. "I've always researched what I've
been taught and looked into both sides."

However, late last month, Wawota School principal Susan Wilson
received a complaint from a student concerned that Kieran was
promoting drug use.

Wilson asked Kieran's mother, Jo Ann Euler, to come in for a meeting.
Euler says Wilson told her that she didn't know if Kieran was taking
or distributing drugs, but that police would be called if it was
discovered that he was. Euler says Wilson also requested that Kieran
stop talking about drugs at school.

No disciplinary action was taken against Kieran, but the Grade 10
student believed Wilson's warning infringed against his freedom of
speech. He began talking about his situation online with groups like
the Cannabis Culture Forum and the Saskatchewan Marijuana Party.
Before long, members of the Marijuana Party had offered to help Kieran
organize a protest action.

On Tuesday, June 12, two members of the Marijuana Party and one member
of eNDProhibition (a wing of the NDP that is lobbying for the
legalization of marijuana) set up across the street from Wawota School
with a megaphone, signs, hemp seed cookies, and a giant flag with a
cannabis leaf on it.

Kieran says he believes at that point, many of his classmates were
supporting him and wanted to join the protest. However, students were
informed that because of Wawota School's closed campus policy--which
states students cannot leave the grounds during school hours without a
note from their parents--no-one would be permitted to go across the
street.

Kieran and his brother decided to go anyway. Two other students went
with them, but returned to class quickly for fear of getting in trouble.

In the meantime, the school instituted their lockdown
policy--preventing anyone from entering or leaving the building. The
RCMP did attend the protest briefly to check things out, but no
charges were laid.

While principal Susan Wilson declined to comment, Southeast
Cornerstone School Division Director of Education Don Rempel says the
school's administration made the right decision in responding to the
incident the way they did.

"I think the school took appropriate action because the protesters
weren't part of the school community and never took the opportunity to
come in and introduce themselves to school staff," Rempel says. "They
were also calling for students to come out and join the protest. This
certainly was not an authorized school activity and staff has the
obligation to look out for the safety and wellbeing of their students."

As a result of leaving the schoolgrounds without permission, Kieran
and Lucas each received a three-day suspension.

While Rempel says the school division doesn't normally discuss details
of individual student disciplinary issues, he says the punishments
were the result of the students' violations of an existing school policy.

"I think the school took appropriate measures," he says. "Wawota
School is a closed campus--students are to stay on campus during
school hours unless they have a signed note from a parent."

However, those involved in the protest believe the school
overreacted.

"I'm exceptionally surprised," says Ethan Erkiletian of the
Saskatchewan Marijuana Party, who attended the protest. "Really, the
reaction thus far--the antagonistic response--has been incredible. We
are encouraging citizens and interested parties to contact Wawota
Parkland School and the Director of Education to express their
displeasure."

"I thought because it was for freedom of speech, they (school
administration) wouldn't be too against it," Kieran says. "I never
expected them to be as harsh as they were with the
punishment."

Kieran's mother--who teaches at Carlyle School-- says she knows Wawota
School has a closed campus policy and that her sons violated it when
they left they grounds. However, she supports her son's right to speak
his mind.

"Neither one of my kids smokes, drinks, or does drugs--that's why I
allowed Kieran to express his freedom of speech on this issue," she
says.

Euler's biggest concern right now is Kieran's final exams. Her son was
supposed to leave for a trip to China last Friday, and the school had
granted him special permission to write his exams early. However, his
suspension meant he was not able to.

"Kieran is a 90 student, and if he takes a zero on these exams he'll
have 60s on his transcript," Euler says.

Euler spent a lot of time on the phone last week with the Department
of Learning to see if her son can write his finals in China.

For his part, Kieran says he is still glad he stood up for what he
views as his right to free speech. "I'm really shocked and
disappointed with the reaction of the school, but I think it got its
message across--the protest was a success."