Bunn Elementary Students Suspended For Giving Out Ginseng Pills

Betty Williams was shocked when she heard that her 11-year-old son was one of several students at Bunn Elementary School found with Ginseng pills.

"Everybody else was doing it. Everybody else was doing it so he felt it was OK to do it," Williams says. "Like alcohol and cigarettes, you've got to be of age to buy stuff like that. How can a child go in a store and buy a 99-cent pack of energy pills? Why would someone sell a child something like that?"

Franklin County commissioner Harry Foy sells Ginseng at his convenience store.

"As far as I know, there's no age limit on it. All it says is herbal supplement." Foy says. "I guess a kid could buy a hammer and bust somebody's window's out with it. I don't feel that's my responsibility how he uses the hammer."

Franklin County Schools'policy states that if a substance is ingested or given out and its purpose is to alter mood or behavior, it is not allowed on campus.

Marla Peoples, Director of Student Services at Franklin County Schools, says society as a whole should take the incident more seriously.

"Most parents would agree that they don't want their child taking any substance that hasn't been passed by theFDA," Peoples says. "They don't know the reaction their child is going to have from taking it."

Franklin County Schools encourage parents to talk to their kids about all types of drugs.

Their policy is spelled out in the Code of Conduct handbook that is given out to all students at the beginning of the year. Parents must sign and return a card showing that they also understand and support the policies.