Bay Minette — Baldwin County Sheriff Huey “Hoss” Mack donated $10,000 to continue a drug prevention program in the school system.

“The primary purpose is to keep kids from growing up to be adult offenders,” said Mack.

The money will be used by the Chemical Abuse Prevention Program (CAPP), which kicked off last September. In the past, students were expelled under a “zero-tolerance” policy for drug-related offenses, said executive principal Suellen Brazil.

“This is for students who made a bad decision,” said Brazil. “For first time offenders, instead of expulsion, they are suspended and required to attend five mandatory sessions of CAPP.

“We served 240 students last year. They were referred to the program by the school system or the juvenile justice system.”

The program is housed in the Taylor Building in Robertsdale. Students from the juvenile justice system meet on Tuesdays, while school referrals attend sessions on Thursdays.

Law enforcement routinely seizes cash and property during drug cases. The money can be used to combat drugs, but the federal government has strict rules about what that money can be used for.

“We had to go all the way to Washington, D.C. to get approval for this new program,” said Mack. “I believe this is a deterrent and it is a good thing.

“It does work to keep these folks from making bad decisions.”

The program uses Drug Education Council resources to provide professional facilitators to run the program.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said DEC executive director Virginia Guy. “Kids are getting help. Families are getting help. It’s a great benefit to the community.”