B.C. Montessori school principal called student a ‘drug trafficker,’ expelled him over cannabis gummy: lawsuit

It was supposed to be a three-night trip for students of a B.C. private school to zipline, camp and explore Vancouver Island’s rugged mountain wilderness.

But it was cut short for three students who were caught eating cannabis gummies, according to a lawsuit filed by one of the students.

The principal of Westmont Montessori School and the organization that runs it are facing a defamation lawsuit after the student — who was 12 at the time — was expelled, allegedly called a “drug trafficker” and exposed for the incident in a mass email sent to the parents of every student in his class, says the lawsuit.

CBC News is not naming the former student, now 15, or his parents to protect his identity. 

The events have caused him and his family “embarrassment, contempt and ridicule,” according to the lawsuit.

None of the allegations have been tested in court. Principal Magnus Hanton and the Western Communities Montessori Society deny the allegations and say none of the comments constitute defamation. 

Westmont is a preschool to Grade 12 school in the Greater Victoria area that teaches students through the Montessori method, a 20th century Italian educational approach that focuses on self-directed activities and hands-on learning outside the classroom.

The society and Hanton, who’s been Westmont’s principal for more than a decade, declined to provide comment on the case due to the ongoing litigation but noted in a statement “that there are always two sides to every story.”

THC or CBD gummies?

In 2021, while on campus waiting to travel to a provincial park, the teen’s classmate offered him and another student a cannabis edible, claiming  it was a THC gummy, according to the lawsuit. Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC is one of the key active ingredients in cannabis.

All three students ate at least one gummy, the lawsuit said.

At the park, other students informed a teacher that they were made “uncomfortable” by their peers who ate the gummies.

The three students had to be picked up by their parents.

The teen’s notice of civil claim insists that school staff later determined that the gummies actually contained cannabidiol — better known as CBD — a chemical that doesn’t cause intoxication. The teen didn’t display any psychoactive behaviors after eating the gummy, according to the notice of civil claim.

But Hanton and the Montessori society deny that the gummies were confirmed to have CBD.

Both THC and CBD come from cannabis plants. CBD is a controlled substance in Canada considered among drugs the government thinks can be addictive or potentially abused.

‘Sharing drugs could have fatal consequences’

Shortly after they were sent home, Hanton sent a mass email to parents notifying them that “marijuana gummies” were brought to school, according to the notice of civil claim.

“While there was no harm intended, we want to impress upon students and families how dangerous and serious this was. In the context of the opioid crisis, students experimenting with and sharing drugs could have fatal consequences,” the email outlined in the notice of civil claim said.

“This behaviour ranges from uncomfortable to terrifying for some of  the students involved.”

Hanton expelled the teen who’s now taking legal action, but not the other two students — including the one who brought and shared the gummies.

According to the notice of civil claim, Hanton allegedly called the boy a “drug trafficker” multiple times and accused him of pressuring other kids to do drugs during a meeting with the boy, his father and two teachers.

Hanton denies saying any of those things during the meeting.

He says the boy was expelled because of his past record of “making inappropriate comments to younger students” and was previously told that he would be expelled if he was involved in another incident, according to the response to the lawsuit.

Hanton sent another email to parents after the expulsion.

“We’ve had the opportunity to meet with the families of the three students involved and gained some clarity about our steps forward,” the email said. “It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to” and proceeded to write the student’s full name, saying the school “will not be able to best serve his needs.”

The email also named the other students involved, saying they’d be returning to school “after a restorative process.”

The teen is seeking a swath of damages, for breach of privacy, loss of reputation and mental suffering. He alleges the emails led people to believe that he “was solely or primarily responsible” for the gummy incident. 

In his response to the lawsuit, Hanton argued his email didn’t explain why the student was leaving the school and was not defamatory.

The response also says Hanton “had a moral and ethical interest” to notify parents.

Allegations of parents pulling strings

The expelled student’s lawyer alleges in court documents that Hanton decided to expel him after receiving several complaints from parents who were concerned about him attending school with their children.

The lawyer alleges the principal was influenced by the parents because they make donations to the school and sit on the Montessori society’s board. Hanton and the society deny this claim.

Besides the donations, Westmont parents pay as much as $18,000 a year for their kids to attend the school. 

A judge has ordered the society to hand over the parents’ donation records, despite the organization arguing in court that donations were irrelevant to the lawsuit and that “this case is not one about unfair treatment on the basis of social or economic class.”

A 10-day trial for the suit is scheduled to start in November.

 A lawsuit claims the head of a private school in Victoria, B.C., called a 12-year-old boy a ‘drug trafficker’ and violated his privacy after the child and other students were caught eating cannabis edibles.  Read More  

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