Minor in Possession of Large Quantity of Drugs

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Ohio

My younger brother (who does very well in school and is an accomplished musician) is a bit of a stoner/druggie. He attends boarding school, which has a very, VERY strict zero tolerance policy for drugs. He sent me a picture of himself holding a bag of 1.5 ounces of shrooms, or hallucinogenic mushrooms, saying they were for winter break. After investigating our state's drug policies (his school isn't in Ohio, but he comes home for breaks), I discovered that shrooms are a schedule 1 substance. I know the 1.5 ounces is a large amount, and I'm assuming it's enough to be considering a felony possession. He literally just turned 17 today. If he got caught with it, would he be charged as an adult? And if so, what would the sentence most likely be? This isn't his first run-in with the law either; he got caught with a small amount of pot and marijuana paraphernalia by the police when he was about 15 or 16, but somehow our parents managed to not find out about it. Would this affect the jail time? I'm trying to get him to see reality for what it is so he'll just throw away the drugs instead of bringing them home to our parents' house.

While it's not a mandatory elevation to adult court (using a firearm would have been or if he had previously been under juvie custody), they can very much elevate felonies to be tried as an adult.

Your gut feeling is right. Any quantity of Psilocybin in Ohio is a fifth degree felony. If he is going to share them with friends it's distribution and another felony.

If he's convicted merely on possession, he's likely to get probation. He can expect regular drug testing, being checked up by the parole officer, and stiff sanctions if he uses drugs or commits other crimes. He will also pretty much find a lot of his future CLOSED to him with a drug felony conviction. Financial aid will almost certainly be out of the question. Large number of careers that require moral and sober behavior will not consider him.

While I know you will find it "ratting" on him, you should really be talking to your parents. If he shows up at home with this stuff, it could be very bad for all of you. I'd not let my miscreant brother drag me down.

Yeah I told him if he brought the stuff home, I'd tell our parents. I understand being a dumb teenager (because I didn't exactly make the greatest decisions when I was 17) but this is crossing the line. Thanks for your advice and information, I'll be sure to pass it along.

And I'll probably talk to my parents. I don't think he needs to be shipped off to rehab or military school, which might be my parents' solution, but I do think he needs to realize that he can't just get away with stuff like this forever. He seems to take everything as a joke.

Thanks for your help again.