Updated: Police Investigate Drugs at Stevenson

Update: 10:55 a.m. Feb. 1

spokesman Jim Conrey confirmed this morning that the school is participating with Lincolnshire police in a drug trafficking investigation.

"The investigation began in earnest in December," he said. He confirmed that students' text and email messages have "played a big part" in the investigation.

"We believe there is plenty of credible evidence here to take a look at cell phones," he said.

Conrey said the investigation includes "certainly marijuana," as well as other drugs.

He would not comment on how many students are involved in the investigation, but said that estimates given by some students were exaggerated.

"If more than one person was involved, it's too many," he said. "We're not going to tolerate anyone using or distributing drugs on our campus."

Conrey said that no students have been expelled, nor have any expulsion hearings been held. He would not elaborate on other punishments students have received.

"The severity of the consequence meets the deed, so to speak," he said.

"We're working with those families whose students need help," he said, adding that counseling is available from Stevenson as well as outside agencies.

In the past, a drug-sniffing dog has made periodic visits to Stevenson, both during and after school hours. Conrey said he was unsure when the dog last visited the campus or whether it was effective in finding offenders.

Conrey said that the school has not issued a notice to parents about the investigation.

"There was pretty considerable buzz in the community about this even before yesterday," he said.

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9:44 p.m. Jan. 31

Lincolnshire police are investigating up to 200 Stevenson High School students after authorities found text messages or email regarding drug dealings, CLTV reported Tuesday night.

Some students have been suspended or expelled, according to CLTV, but no charges have been filed.

A Stevenson spokesman told the station that he could not confirm details, but that the school takes such issues seriously.

The news prompted one person to post a YouTube video (see attached) about drug use.

Twitter is also lighting up with comments from Stevenson students using the hashtag #SHSDrugbust2012 to address the issue.

"#shsdrugbust2012 is actually a trend?! Ashamed to be a patriot!!!!!!!!!!" Tweeted one student.

"Good thing that they didn't take any of our phones who graduated in 2010 bc we would all go down," wrote another.

Stevenson hosted a during which local experts addressed drug and alcohol use by teens and urged parents to keep an eye on their children.