Carroll County's drug task force arrested a Westminster High School senior after seizing more than 800 doses of LSD -- the largest single haul of the drug in county history -- during a Wednesday night undercover operation.
Blair Lee Brannock, 18, of Finksburg is scheduled to appear before a Carroll District judge this morning in a bid to reduce the $100,000 bail imposed on him early yesterday morning by a court commissioner.
Mr. Brannock was charged with possession of LSD with the intent to distribute, a felony.
According to State's Attorney Jerry F. Barnes, the arrest brought to a close a weeks-long investigation into the distribution of the hallucinogenic drug to youths in Westminster.
"It appears that the LSD market is county high school students," the prosecutor said yesterday. "This is a highly dangerous drug that can cause permanent brain damage. It is sad that it is aimed at a youthful market."
District Court charging documents filed in the case said that an informant told members of the Carroll County Narcotics Task Force that a Westminster High School student was involved in "the distribution of LSD to juveniles in the Westminster area."
Tfc. Robert R. Heuisler, the task force member who filed the charging documents, wrote that the student would "work off his pager. He meets his customers at the Cranberry Mall or at Route 140 and Sandymount Road."
On Wednesday night, task force members observed as a man approach a car in a parking lot near the intersection of Sandymount and Route 140. The driver of the car got out, and the two men walked toward the rear of a nearby building, the charging documents said.
The police approached them. Officers recovered 811 doses, each worth about $6, that had been thrown on the ground.
Mr. Brannock was arrested.
Marion Brannock disputed that her son could be a drug dealer. "As far as I know, they haven't tested that yet," Mrs. Brannock said. "I don't believe that it was LSD."
Mrs. Brannock described her son as a hard-working student who intends to begin working in the heating and air-conditioning business when he graduates. She said she has never seen him use or sell drugs, and that he is a mature and responsible person who has held occasional jobs at fast-food restaurants.
School officials would not comment directly on Mr. Brannock's case, but the system's drug and disciplinary policies say that students accused of crimes can face punishment within the school system.
Mr. Brannock's arrest brings to four the number of Carroll County Public School students accused of drug use or distribution in less than a week.
On Friday, three North Carroll Middle School students were arrested on marijuana offenses. Earlier in the day, some students reported to the school administration that a seventh-grade boy was selling marijuana to two classmates. By early afternoon, one 12-year-old boy had been arrested by state police for sale of suspected marijuana, and two other boys were arrested for possession.
School officials and police have said in recent months that drug use among school students has been on the increase in the past two years, and LSD in particular is making somewhat of a comeback.
"LSD is becoming more available and more used," said Edwin L. Davis, director of pupil services.
A dose of LSD, roughly the size of one-quarter of a thin aspirin tablet, is routinely blotted onto a piece of paper in the form of popular cartoon characters.
The drug causes hallucinations and can cause distortion in perception. It has no known medical use.