March 06, 2003 11:05:24 AM

More CHS Students Arrested in Drug Case

A 15-year-old boy was arrested Tuesday and charged with theft for allegedly stealing some Lortab tablets from a friend's house. A 14-year-old boy was arrested at the school Wednesday on drug-related charges, but exact charges against him have not yet been announced.

An investigation began when the school resource officer, Dustin Orton, received an anonymous tip that a student was distributing the painkiller in the school.

A 15-year-old boy who had a legitimate prescription allegedly gave some pills to a classmate, who helped him distribute it to others in the school. He faces a second-degree felony charge of distribution of a controlled substance on school grounds.

Cedar High School principal Carol Bishop said Wednesday that school officials have finished interviewing the last two of 11 students they suspect of being involved with illegal Lortab use, and that now her focus will shift from gathering information to determining punishments.

"They're suspended for 10 days, and we've got meetings set up starting Friday with the superintendent," Bishop said. After the superintendent's hearing, students involved could face expulsion from school. More legal charges could also be filed this week.

Bishop estimates that no more than a few dozen pills and $15 cash ever changed hands, and said police and school administrators were able to stop the problem before any of the students developed severe addictions.

Lortab, the brand name of a painkiller that combines acetaminophen and hydrocodone, is highly addictive and can cause a collapse of the pulmonary system if abused in large quantities, said Clare W. Kavin, director of the Waismann Institute in Los Angeles.

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