"Birth-Control Pill Lands Fairfax Student 2-Week Suspension, Possible Expulsion"

I understand the thinking behind zero tolerance drug policies. As this article points out, a lot of people can't tell what exactly is being popped into a student's mouth - something as innocuous as Advil or something significantly more harmful - and illegal (that being said, I still think it's moronic not to allow kids cough drops or Tylenol or Midol, especially if they're old enough to understand when and how to take it). That being said, this article illustrates some of the SERIOUS problems with such policies. A girl was suspended for two weeks and recommended for expulsion because she took her birth control pill at lunch. The school handbook REQUIRED that punishment - given that she was a letterman and an honors student, I can't imagine that would have been the school's punishment if left to its own devices. While zero-tolerance drug policies have their hearts in the right places, cases like this show that there clearly needs to be more wiggle room in the process because this is just plain ridiculous.