Police: 8-year-old girl failed to smoke pot in school bathroom

PATASKALA, Ohio, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Authorities in Ohio said an 8-year-old girl was found in a bathroom attempting to smoke marijuana in an inefficient way -- by lighting a plastic baggie on fire.

The Pataskala Police Department said the 8-year-old Pataskala Elementary School student was caught by a school employee Nov. 4 trying to ignite the marijuana in the girls' bathroom.

"The good thing is she didn't know how to [smoke the marijuana]," Police Chief Bruce Brooks told The Newark Advocate. "She lit the [plastic] baggie."

The student attempted to flush some of the marijuana down a toilet and threw the rest in a trash can, where it was recovered, police said. The student was suspended.

Southwest Licking Local Schools Superintendent Robert Jennell said confidentiality laws bar the district from discussing the student's punishment.

"Obviously, though, we take the tone in the district that [school] is not the place for drugs," Jennell said. "We certainly want to make sure we reach out to all the organizations we can to give this student all the help possible."

The superintendent said the incident is being taken "very, very seriously."

WSYX-TV quoted a family member as saying the girl was initially suspended for 10 days, but the punishment was reduced to three.

The family member said school administrators are reviewing school bus security camera footage in an attempt to identify how the student obtained the drugs.