In the summer of 2000, a team of four students from Chesterfield County high schools attended a leadership conference with Virginia's Youth Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Project. After learning of the risks and severe consequences associated with drug and alcohol abuse, those students decided to take matters into their own hands and educate their peers about what they had learned. They developed a program that enlists school and county officials to enact a real-life drama and educate middle school students about the consequences of drug possession on school property.
Sponsored by Chesterfield Youth Planning and Development, "Student vs. Marijuana" is a live presentation that takes place annually at middle schools throughout Chesterfield County. Seventh-grade students watch the dramatization of a student caught carrying marijuana at school. The student goes on to face both school and legal consequences, including expulsion, a drug possession charge, a suspended driver's license, and juvenile detention followed by a probation period.
Terry Gryder is serving as the student's defense attorney in this year's "Student vs. Marijuana" presentations. During the program, her role is to defend the student (who pleads not guilty) during a trial in the 12th District Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. The cast also includes representatives from the Police and Sheriff's Departments, the Juvenile Probation Department, the Commonwealth Attorney's office, the 12th District Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, and officials from each participating school, all of whom perform their real-life roles. Attorney Gryder and the other professionals who have volunteered their time have done so with the hope that students will leave the presentation with a greater understanding of the serious consequences of drug or alcohol possession.
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