Georgia 3rd grader suspened for snorting Smarties

Nov. 21 (UPI) -- School’s message to students: Candy does not make you dandy.

A 9-year-old has been suspended from Porterdale Elementary School in Newton County, Ga., for crushing up some Smarties candies and snorting them.

Chelsi Lewis was informed by phone that her third grader, Demitri Santiago, had been suspended.

"I said, 'What? Where could he have gotten this from?'" Lewis said. "He told me he had witnessed a student in class, he had actually watched her. He'd watched her crush it up and inhale it. I said, ‘what made you so curious about it?’ And he said her reaction was like, ‘wooo!’”

Santiago arrived home bearing a note saying he was suspended for two days for possessing banned objects. The note said he was caught by a teacher "sniffing a powdery substance."

Lewis wants other parents to be aware of the concerning trend. "Anything going up the nose and especially candy -- anything was terribly dangerous," she said.

Newton County School System spokesperson Sherri Davis-Viniard released this statement about the matter:

“This matter is currently under investigation. The health, safety, and well-being of our students are all very important to us. This activity has the potential to be very dangerous for children and parents need to be aware of the possible health risks. While we cannot release individual student discipline information due to federal privacy laws, those involved have been disciplined accordingly.”

[11 Alive]