Incident in schools

Possession

It is an offence for any person to unlawfully have a controlled drug in their possession.

Supply

It is an offence to either supply, be concerned in the supply, offer to supply or be concerned in making an offer to supply a controlled drug.

The school or college should first establish

• What has happened?
• Have drugs been found?
• Who is involved?
• Are there suspicions of drug dealing?

If drugs are found

• Is it on school or college premises?
• Seize the substance — it is legal to possess an illegal substance in order to prevent an offence being committed and then destroy it, or hand it to the police.
• If the substance needs to be kept pending police collection, then it should be securely stored in the school safe
• Schools and colleges are allowed to dispose of substances. If this action is taken, a witness must be present and the action recorded.