*Res puts on his 'stern head'*
Firstly, yups Skizzle, you fucked up letting someone 'bully' you into something that you didn't want to do - you know that, so no lecture on that.
Secondly, blazing up in ANY public place - especially somewhere as confined as public restrooms...in a school....where lots of people can randomly enter...sheesh man, go and get your head examined!!!! (lol)()

*Res takes off 'stern head' and replaces the 'Res head'*
I'm really not sure what the school is trying to acheive here
They're gonna kick you out of school for a bit - creating alienation from the other pupils, unrest at home, wasting court time and tieing up the legal system, with the addition of all the stigma attached to your school record, not to mention the possiblity of a criminal one!
Ok, so you, slipnslide, may view this is the same way as someone might view being caught dropping litter - in other words, it probably won't damage your psychological outlook - but not all kids are able to do this...what amount of trauma would be pressed upon a different kid!
The beginnings of a 'bad apple'.

My point is this:
Why be so draconian and risk the bad apple, when a responsible bollocking from the Principle would probably deter the pupil from doing anything so foolish again. The school would still be able to keep tabs on the pupil, without the worry that the pupil will have to deal with all the shit that I detailed earlier.
They must surely ask themselves why the pupil feels the need to take drugs in the first place - usually due to social unrest, or home-life problems, etc.
Instead, they take a broad scope of this type of thing, and probably create more problems for that pupil (child) to deal with!

I just don't understand it

Here's a possible senario to consider, which may help to illustrate my point:
Fred is a sad kid; he's ignored at home (at best) or (at worst) beaten. He finds interacting with other kids at school to be very difficult, and is considered by many to be a loner. His grades are average to poor, as he finds it difficult to concentrate due to the pressures of homelife and peer oppression.
He smokes weed as much for escapism, as he does for a 'cry for help' - or seeking attention from an authoritive figure...
You get the picture, I think

He's caught smoking at school, and gets all the usual standard response - expellation, parents informed, and police involvement.

He's sent home, where the parents go mad at him, then has to go through the judicial system, and eventually has to return to school amidst all the finger pointing and whispers. Not to mention the fact that his school record will tell prospective employers/colleges, etc about it!

And all the while, the kid sinks deeper into darkness....

Alternatively:
The Principle has a quite word in the kid's shell-like, sets up some counselling, and puts the kid on secret probation. No one else knows about it.
During counselling, the kid's homelife is revealed (maybe something can be done about it), and is able to start dealing with his shit.
Also, because none of the other kids know, he is able to integrate back into class, without the stigma of being 'the school pot-head'.

I think that the latter senario (broad though it is) offers the 'offending' kid a far better chance at advancement than the former.

I know it becomes sticky because of the parents right to know, but I dunno...I just think that every case should be looked at individually - if the Principle is worth his salt, then he should be able to make a responsible judgement call on something like this.

Golden rule, dude - don't be toking it up in school - lesson learnt, I think
Good luck with it all, slip - I hope it all works out ok, and that the worse thing you get is a bit of embaressment

Res...