U.K. mom eludes jail for giving kids pot

BURY ST EDMUNDS, England, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- A former British teaching assistant avoided jail by contending she gave her own children marijuana in order to keep them away from drug dealers.

Nicola Cooper was sentenced to community service Tuesday on charges stemming from the seizure of 4 ounces of pot at her home earlier this year.

Cooper, 43, said she decided to supply the cannabis to her teenage son and daughter because they were already smoking it and she felt she should keep them away from unsavory characters.

Cooper lost her job in Suffolk due to her arrest, but told the Daily Mail she felt she had done the right thing.

“I regret breaking the law and feel sorry for that,” she said. “Some people give their children alcohol and cigarettes at an early age -- but I gave mine cannabis."