Drug

[wagionvigil]

What do you do in a troop when a scout has been identified as a Drug User?

[Guneukitschik]

Well I think the best approach is one of caution! You don't want to jump the kid and scare him away from scouts and the potential help it may offer. I think you should approach the kid and confront him with what you either heard, saw, etc. Find out the facts...sometimes things get out of hand when the rumors start flying...

You do however need to emphasize that this is obviously wrong...a parent/scoutmaster conference is a definate! I luckily haven't had to deal with this yet! I think there should be a level of assistance offered...try to find out if this is a one-time thing or a habit. I don't think that kicking him out of the troop immediately is the right thing to do. It's not fair to the kid that fell to the peer pressure to use drugs. Perhaps some school counselors could offer more assistance?

[optimist]

Actions also depend on the circumstances as well. For instance, if a Scout brings drugs to summer camp, the camp director must be informed and the parents will be called to come pick up the Scout immediately. If the same thing happened at a regular meeting and the Scout was lucid enough to not be a danger to himself or the rest of the Scouts, it would probably only be necessary to have the Scout sit out of the meeting until his parents arrive to take him home. Regardless of the circumstances, I agree the Scout would not be allowed to return to the troop until substantial discussion occurred between troop leadership, the parents, and the Scout.

Please keep in mind that depending on the law where you live, you may have a legal obligation to report drug abuse to the local authorities. Your district leadership should be able to advise you on this or at least tell you where you can find out about the local legal requirements.

[Billvann]

Actions also depend on the circumstances as well. For instance, if a Scout brings drugs to summer camp, the camp director must be informed and the parents will be called to come pick up the Scout immediately.

Some camps state up front in their leaders manual that local authorities will be contacted if illegal drugs or fire arms are brought/used at camp. Of course there are also abuses of legal drugs or non-drugs.

[hacimsaalk]

i think you should calmly talk it over with him and discuss the consequences with him. if you find that he has borught drugs to a campout/ camp, then i would suspend him from the troop for a while. if he does it again, i would kick him out.

[KB1KOI]

I argee with hacimsaalk. 2 stikes and your out, but not without Help.

[riverwalk]

Yeah, that's one Scouting program, and another is the YPT series. We musn't accuse or allow any hazing type of approach. Everyone might want to be helpful, but it has to be approached carefully. If however, one is "using" during official Activities, or may be in an altered state....it will have to be addressed, both for their sake and others.

Firstly, our Scouting must be safe while it's being anything else. But if the Program is really helping a Scout that has these other issues...we must not ostracize him, while supporting him.

[Lynda J]

If this kid is using drugs at scouting activities you have the posibility that he could endanger the other boys. Drugs do strange things to people. And if there is any posibility that another boy could be in danger this boy should not be at scouts.

[deweylure]

Definitely have a talk with the scout and the parents. Drug use is a zero tolerance offense. The last thing you need is for a kid to get hurt and it comes back to haunt you ,you knew yet did nothing. You might want to speak with your District Rep.

Dewey

[riverwalk]

And that's why we're trained to know that every Scout Executive (Council) is the one to contact. This ensures good direction AND our protection as volunteers.

[RWSmith]

Here we go, again... Dewey,

Just what, exactly, do you mean by a 'zero tolerance offense'? Where is it written in Scouting policy, of any kind, that drug abuse is a 'zero tolerance offense'? What are you saying? That a 14-y/o kid should be banned from Scouting, for life, because he got caught using any of the following: --A prescription medication, which was not prescribed to him? --Over- or under-dosing a prescription medication, which was prescribed to him? --Any illegal drug, which in the case of his age, would include tobacco and/or alcohol? (Nothing on this planet is more addictive or deadly than pure nicotine.)

I agree, a kid (or adult) who is outside the bounds of whatever he's been prescribed, could present a safety issue that may need to be dealt with immediately, depending upon the 'drug' and circumstances. A Scout or Scouter who so much as has alcohol in his possession needs to be removed from the Scouting activity, immediately; the incident needs to be addressed. But, Zero Tolerance? To, me, that means no second chance. For an adult, who knew better, I'm all for it. But, for a kid? Please. You know, if we banned Scouts every time they screwed up, then who would we have left in Scouting? Just a bunch of self-righteous Scouters.

I'm not trying to say that you are being self-righteous. What I am trying to say, though, is that I am very much reformed about the phrase "Zero Tolerance", which stemmed from my experience with my kids getting bullied in middle school and the school administration's way of using "Zero Tolerance". Search this board for other discussions regarding 'zero tolerance' and you'll see what I mean. Looking forward to your reply.

[Lynda J]

I am like RW. I think Zero Tolerance when it comes to kids can be such a BAD thing. When Kevin came home yesterday from school he told me that a boy was suspended from school for 2 days because the shirt he was wearing had a logo on it that "could be a gang sign". I know this kid. It is a really good kid. I bet his mother bought the shirt at Wally World like so many others. The preception that the logo is a gang sign is in someones eyes. Yes are school is beginning to have a problems with gangs. Kevin can't have red laces in his shoes because they are gang colors. Ok then lets simply go to uniforms that way everyone wears the exact same thing. I would love it. Sure would make getting him dressed in the morning. I don't think my daughter took as much time getting ready for school.
I think that in most cases all kids should have second chances. The only places I feel zero tolerance should apply is DWI and child molestors. Get one one DWI go to jail, lose drivers license for 6 months. No second chance. OUr community just lost 4 great kids to a DWI driver with 6 convictions. Molest a child go straight to jail. I have no tolerance for either

[RWSmith]

Kevin can't have red laces in his shoes because they are gang colors.

Oh, HECK NO! Ah, but red shoelaces are a gang's colors--a good gang.