What is the name of your state? Louisiana.
I am 17 and attend a local public high school. I was recently caught with distributing and possessing herbal tea (St. John's Wort to be exact). This may sound fallacious but it is true. I had multiple bags tied up to give with enough tea to make a cup. This was given out to friends for 50 cents a bag to cover my cost of purchasing it. St. John's Wort is a herb that is found in health centers in pill form for treatment of minor to mild depression. I happen to come across the foliage of the herb that was perfect for making tea. I find it as an alternative to drinking coffee in the mornings and my friends claim that smoking it has the same effect.
After a while I decided to bring it to school to give out. I only gave it to friends I was close with and they knew exactly what it was. However I believed someone must of saw a transaction and thought it was some illicit drug. So, they called me down and I was read my Miranda rights and that when I knew this was getting nasty. They found the supply and immediately jumped the gun thinking it was laced with something (they couldn't understand why people would want to buy tea at school...). They looked up in their Louisiana law cheatsheat (I'm not joking) and found something to charge me with. They referenced it with a three letter acronym, but I wasn't aware of what it was. They described it as "distributing substances masquerading as illegal drugs". I tried to remember the acronym to do research on it, but that was the last thing on my mind at the time. Basically to me it was the fact that the tea was in plastic bags for individual sale. That is what I was charged with and put up for expulsion.
I need guidance on how I should handle this. I make good grades and somewhat clean record (expelled before for possession, found a marijuana steam in my truck. I appealed and got a 45 day expulsion to an alternative school). I do not have money to hire a lawyer nor does my family. So please help me out. Thanks
I am 17 and attend a local public high school. I was recently caught with distributing and possessing herbal tea (St. John's Wort to be exact). This may sound fallacious but it is true. I had multiple bags tied up to give with enough tea to make a cup. This was given out to friends for 50 cents a bag to cover my cost of purchasing it. St. John's Wort is a herb that is found in health centers in pill form for treatment of minor to mild depression. I happen to come across the foliage of the herb that was perfect for making tea. I find it as an alternative to drinking coffee in the mornings and my friends claim that smoking it has the same effect.
After a while I decided to bring it to school to give out. I only gave it to friends I was close with and they knew exactly what it was. However I believed someone must of saw a transaction and thought it was some illicit drug. So, they called me down and I was read my Miranda rights and that when I knew this was getting nasty. They found the supply and immediately jumped the gun thinking it was laced with something (they couldn't understand why people would want to buy tea at school...). They looked up in their Louisiana law cheatsheat (I'm not joking) and found something to charge me with. They referenced it with a three letter acronym, but I wasn't aware of what it was. They described it as "distributing substances masquerading as illegal drugs". I tried to remember the acronym to do research on it, but that was the last thing on my mind at the time. Basically to me it was the fact that the tea was in plastic bags for individual sale. That is what I was charged with and put up for expulsion.
I need guidance on how I should handle this. I make good grades and somewhat clean record (expelled before for possession, found a marijuana steam in my truck. I appealed and got a 45 day expulsion to an alternative school). I do not have money to hire a lawyer nor does my family. So please help me out. Thanks