15-Year-Old Student Suspended for Pro-Marijuana Stance

In Canada, 15-year-old Kieran King's views on marijuana have led to his suspension from Wawota Parkland School.

The controversial suspension, gathering attention as a question of freedom of speech, was reported by the Leader-Post.

The student was allegedly threatened with police action by Principal Susan Wilson before his suspension after making the case that marijuana was less harmful than some legal substances.

"In my opinion, cannabis is safer than they say, it is not worse than alcohol or tobacco," said King.

Although Wilson accused King of using and selling marijuana at school, this is denied by King and his family, and King has offered to submit to a voluntary drug test to prove otherwise. His pro-marijuana stance, instead, he claims, comes from research he did out of curiosity.

"I've never smoked marijuana. I've never even seen it," said King. His mother, Jo Ann Buler, echoes this sentiment: "I know my children don't smoke, drink or take drugs," she said. "As a parent I feel I need to support Kieran but I can see both sides of the issue."

After reading up on the plant and its effects, King shared what he learned with classmates. In response to Wilson's threat, feeling his right to freedom of speech had been violated, Wilson organized a school walkout to begin at 11:05 a.m on Tuesday.

That day, the school was locked down, anticipating the attempted walkout. Teachers reportedly stood guarding the doorways, threatening punishment for leaving the school. King and his brother Lucas were given three-day-suspensions for disobeying the lockdown.

During the event, the boys had some public support. Protestors gathered in the parking lane in the front of the school: three members of the Saskatchewan Marijuana Party, one member of the NDP and one other protester. They used a megaphone to show their support for King and the students, said Ethan Erkiletian, an executive member of the Saskatchewan Marijuana Party.

But the focus of the event, the student clarifies, is not pro-drugs.