On June 25, 2007, the US Supreme Court ruled in Morse v. Frederick that public schools do not violate the First Amendment rights of students by punishing speech during school-sanctioned activities that may be reasonably interpreted to promote the use of illegal substances. A high school student was suspended after he displayed a banner with the message "Bong hits 4 Jesus" during a televised parade he was attending as part of a school function. The student subsequently sued his principal, arguing that the principal unreasonably restricted his right to free speech. The court reversed the holding of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and held that the "First Amendment does not require schools to tolerate at school events student expression that contributes" to the danger of illegal drug use.



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