Two students arrested, face game suspensions for drugs

By Staff
Leada Gore, Hartselle Enquirer
The two Hartselle High School students arrested for possession of a controlled substance had prescription pills in their possession, while a third student questioned in connection with the incident didn’t and therefore wasn’t charged, according to the Hartselle Police Department.
Lt. Justin Barley of the Hartselle Police Department said officers were called to the school Jan. 24 after school officials received information that three students, all members of the school’s baseball team, were illegally using prescription drugs. Police responded to the school and made the two arrests.
Barley said the drugs were in pill form. The prescription medication was found during a search of the students’ lockers.
The students were turned over to a juvenile probation officer. Following the incident, the entire baseball team was tested for drugs and the baseball facility was searched.
The results of those drug tests are not available.
The students’ punishment will be dictated by the system’s drug testing policy, first passed in 2002 after two baseball players were taken to the hospital after collapsing at school. One later tested positive for marijuana.
According to Hartselle’s code of conduct, any student in grades seven - 12 taking part in extracurricular activities, is subject to random drug testing. The tests check for substances such as alcohol, tobacco and drugs.
For the first occurrence of a positive drug test, the policy stipulates:
If a student tests positive a second time, they are required to serve another suspension of 30 percent of the season. If they test positive for a third time, they face a year’s suspension and can eventually be prohibited from participating in extracurricular activities.