Plymouth-Canton Mom Disappointed in Lack of Notification of Marijuana-Laced Brownie Incident

A local mom is expressing concern over how the Plymouth-Canton Community School (PCCS) District handled the recent drug incident at West Middle School last week. 

PCCS officials confirmed that a brownie laced with marijuana was sold between students who knew what was in it.

PCCS Communications Director Kate Dietrich said the district chose not to report the incident to the entire school community because it was an isolated incident between the three students and did not involve the entire student body.

Tracey Hrubiak, whose son is an eighth-grader at West, disagrees with that reasoning.

"If the students had gotten away with it and were not caught, do you really think it would have stayed between the three students?" she said. "No. It would have spread throughout the school. So I think it's a very, very poor excuse not to share that and use it as an opportunity to speak to our children and for our children to speak to their peers about the consequences of drug use."

Hrubiak first heard of the incident from a friend who is a teacher in the district. She then went to her youngest son, Jasper, who told her what happened at his school.

Hrubiak said the district alerts parents when there are cases of lice and whooping cough in the schools and should have for something like this, too. 

"To brush it under the rug is absolutely insane. That does not do our children or our community any good. I know it's an ugly issue, that there are drugs in the school, but that is a fact. But we need to educate our children."

Hrubiak said she's not looking for the students to be identified, but does want more information to be released. 

"It's almost as if Plymouth-Canton is ashamed, but the reality is that drugs are in the schools," she said. "It's not just Detroit Schools. There are drugs and underage drinking going on. There's lots of things going on in our schools and we're not doing anyone any favors by brushing it under the rug."

Hrubiak has sat down with her two children -- her oldest now attends Eastern Michigan University -- to discuss the matter.

"It's unfortunate that these children had to make poor choices," she said. "They're not bad guys. They made a mistake at this age, so let's educate them and hopefully, they get on the right path. I don't think anyone should be pointing their fingers at these children. Let's embrace the situation as a community and deal with it."

Hrubiak's son, Jasper, said he is friends with one of the students involved and plans to talk to him about it.

"I'm going to speak up to him and tell him he made a mistake and tell him what it can do to him," he said. "Drugs can ruin your life. It stays on your permanent record. You won't be able to get into college, get a scholarship, maybe not even a job and you could go to jail."