Lorain Schools Sued For Suspending Girl For Bringing Candy In

LORAIN, OH — The Lorain City Schools are being sued by a family that says their daughter was suspended after she was wrongly accused of bringing drug-laced candy to school.

The girl's family is seeking $1 million for negligence and defamation.The lawsuit also names the Lorain Police Department, the school district CEO, and every Lorain Schools Board of Education member, according to News 5.

The lawsuit stems from a September incident when a 14-year-old was suspended for bringing Milk Duds to school. She was passing the candies out to classmates when one of her peers said he thought the chocolate, "smelled like weed!"

A school security officer sniffed the Milk Duds and concluded they did smell like marijuana. The girl was then given a 10-day suspension, Fox 8 noted. The original suspension stretched to 21 days because of a police department mistake, the family said.

The court documents filed this week said the girl's mother frequently contacted Lorain Police and asked them to test the Milk Duds. The candy was not tagged properly and was never tested. When the error came to police attention, the lab found no drugs in the Milk Duds, court documents added.

Since returning to her middle school, the 14-year-old has reportedly been bullied, with even teachers jumping in. One staffer told the girl, around Halloween, that he was hoping she wasn't "planning on exchanging candy. We've been down that road before." Students called the girl a "pothead."

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Photo from Ashley Ludwig, Patch