Clovis North High Scandal & Lawsuit: Students Used in Marijuana Bust (CA Health and Safety Code 11357)

This past January, recreational marijuana became legal in both Colorado and Washington State.  The Attorney General of the United States, Eric Holder, made a bold and unprecedented move when he decided that the federal government would not interfere with state law in those two specific cases.  So, although it seems that the tide of public opinion concerning the legality and danger of marijuana, many argue that it is still a problem in high school settings.

It was, perhaps, with this in mind that an employee of the Fresno County Clovis Unified Scholl District set up a drug sting in her own high school, Clovis North.  However, what 36-year-old teacher (name withheld in order to protect the privacy of the accused) failed to remember, or failed to know, is that when minors are involved, their parents must be consulted.  It is for this reason that the two unnamed students involved in the amateur operation are currently suing the school district.  Allegations are that the two students, one male and one female, were recruited by the teacher to purchase marijuana (CA Health and Safety Code 11357) from a third student and to take a photograph of the transaction to be used later as evidence.

While there has been no California law broken in this case, and thus she will not face criminal charges, a lawsuit like this reflects the spirit of the law in the sense that minors should not be used by adults without their parents consent, especially in cases involving drugs.  However, there are situations (like that of pregnancy, contraception, and abortion) for which minors need not seek the consent of their parents or guardians).