Daethian
01-29-2004, 08:35 PM
N.Y. Preschooler Tests Positive For Cocaine
Teacher Became Suspicious Of Balloons
POSTED: 6:18 PM EST January 29, 2004
TROY, N.Y. -- Police in Troy want to know why a 4-year-old girl tested positive for cocaine.
A test showed the drug in the urine of the preschooler after her teacher became suspicious when she saw the girl and her Head Start classmates playing with small balloons, police said.
The children behaved strangely when asked who brought the balloons to class, according to police. Since the children touched the balloons with their mouths, the teacher called in a health monitor, who then noticed the girl's vital signs were elevated.
The girl and four other preschoolers who handled the balloons were taken to a hospital for drug tests. Police said the school notified the parents immediately and the parents gave hospital workers permission to test their children.
Only the 4-year-old girl's test came back positive, police said.
Tests on the balloons showed they weren't tainted with cocaine, but state crime-lab workers are double-checking to make sure those results are correct.
"It's likely that the innocent introduction of balloons into this daycare brought us to the point of finding dangerous drugs in the system of a 4-year-old," Troy Police Detective John Cooney said. "We don't routinely test our 4-year-old preschoolers for dangerous drugs."
The child is home with her mother in Troy while police and social workers continue to investigate.
"We're interviewing everyone who has come into contact with her," Cooney said.
Police said the girl's relatives have cooperated during interviews and submitted to drug tests.
Teacher Became Suspicious Of Balloons
POSTED: 6:18 PM EST January 29, 2004
TROY, N.Y. -- Police in Troy want to know why a 4-year-old girl tested positive for cocaine.
A test showed the drug in the urine of the preschooler after her teacher became suspicious when she saw the girl and her Head Start classmates playing with small balloons, police said.
The children behaved strangely when asked who brought the balloons to class, according to police. Since the children touched the balloons with their mouths, the teacher called in a health monitor, who then noticed the girl's vital signs were elevated.
The girl and four other preschoolers who handled the balloons were taken to a hospital for drug tests. Police said the school notified the parents immediately and the parents gave hospital workers permission to test their children.
Only the 4-year-old girl's test came back positive, police said.
Tests on the balloons showed they weren't tainted with cocaine, but state crime-lab workers are double-checking to make sure those results are correct.
"It's likely that the innocent introduction of balloons into this daycare brought us to the point of finding dangerous drugs in the system of a 4-year-old," Troy Police Detective John Cooney said. "We don't routinely test our 4-year-old preschoolers for dangerous drugs."
The child is home with her mother in Troy while police and social workers continue to investigate.
"We're interviewing everyone who has come into contact with her," Cooney said.
Police said the girl's relatives have cooperated during interviews and submitted to drug tests.