Drugs in School

How times change. I really cannot remember any instances when I was 16-years-old and in school that my peers were selling ecstasy or other drugs. This tended to happen off of school premises as I recall. And, it was small time and infrequent and was not my scene.

However, it seems that times have indeed changed. A 16-year-old turning up to school late has had his bag searched by the school principal. Apparently, the student gave his permission for the search to take place. Well, bugger me if the principal did not find 94 tablets, thought to be ecstasy, with a street value of some AUD 3000.

Unfortunately for the kid, his parents, and possibly his supplier, he was denied bail. It would seem that the police prosecutor has managed to convince the Children's Court that the child is part of a sophisticated operation and that the alleged crime is of sufficient seriousness that bail should be denied.

The youngster has no criminal record. I guess if you're gonna go for it, then you should go hard, the whole nine yards, so to speak.

I wonder is this the start of the vicious cycle of crime and routine trips to prison? Or is this the pre-cursor to a second chance?