Flanked by two police officers, 15-year-old Jamie* was marched out of the gate of his Victorian school and into the back of the divvy van.

Moments earlier, the year 10 student had been called to a senior teacher's office where he was greeted by the officers.

They said he was being arrested over drug trafficking allegations.

"It went pretty downhill from there," Jamie said. "It was such a shock."

He was whisked away to the local police station, still in his uniform and clutching his school bag.

"It wasn't one of my proudest moments. It was embarrassing."

A few weeks before the arrest, Jamie and two of his friends had pooled their money and bought $695 worth of bitcoins.

They then exchanged the digital currency for 100 tabs of acid on the dark web.

When the parcel arrived the next day he realised they had got too much.

"We didn't buy the drugs to make a profit. We wanted to try it but then we had too much. We gave it away to our mates."

One of those mates had a bad trip after taking the hallucinogenic drug Jamie gave him, ran around the streets naked and wound up in hospital.

That was when the police got involved and interviewed Jamie's friends.

His school also began its own investigation, interviewing students and informing their parents.

But Jamie's parents first heard about the crimes, and their consequences, when a policewoman phoned Jamie's mum Emily* after the arrest.

"I was in complete shock. I said, 'I can't believe it, it's a mistake, it's not real'," she said.

Emily has accused the school, which expelled Jamie, of putting its reputation ahead of her son's wellbeing.

"I didn't send my kid to school for him to be arrested," she said.

She said the school provided her family with no support, and should have informed her of what they knew before the arrest.

Jamie says he deserved to be expelled, but he doesn't like the way his school went about it.

"The expulsion is fair enough. It is a reasonable outcome, but it is way that they dealt with it.

"Firstly they should inform parents ... and the arrest shouldn't happen on the school grounds."

His expulsion notice from the principal read: "I do hope that [Jamie] is able to resist any further temptation in the future and that he sticks solely to non-poisonous passions.

"He is a young man of superior intellect and I trust he will achieve to his full potential as an adult."

Jamie's two friends, who were also involved in ordering the drugs, were not expelled.

The principal of Jamie's former school said he could not comment on individual students, but said the school always offered support to those facing expulsion.

"Our students and parents are well aware of the strong stance that the school takes when it comes to anything to do with illegal drugs," he said.

The school always co-operated with police, he said, which included letting them question students on the school grounds.

After the expulsion, Jamie was charged with 22 offences including drug trafficking, drug possession and graffiti.

New figures from the Crime Statistics Agency show that 258 drug offences were recorded at Victorian state and private schools, during school hours, over the past three years.

Last year, students such as Jamie were among those hit with 89 drug offences including drug dealing, trafficking, drug use and possession, while at school.

Inconsistencies in the way schools deal with students involved in drugs were highlighted in a recent report by Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass.

"A student caught smoking marijuana one time was punished the same way as a student dealing drugs in a school," she said.

Finding a new school has been difficult for Jamie.

Emily said every private school she approached already knew about her son.

"They would say, 'oh no, we don't have a place'.

He is now attending a state school, which she said had been "exceptional".

Expelling students for drug use can put them further at risk through isolation, according to Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association chief executive Sam Biondo.

"It places a lot more pressure on the individual," he said. "It's not going to fix the problem."

Peter Wearne, director of services at Youth Support and Advocacy Service, a specialised youth drug treatment service, fields more than 200 calls a year from Victorian schools seeking support for drug-using students.

Wealthier schools are employing teams of counsellors, who help form compassionate drug policies, whereas low-resourced schools in regional or country towns were under enormous pressure.

"Schools have been telling us for over a decade that they are struggling to cope."

He said a spike in heroin overdoses about 20 years ago sparked government support for drug programs and teacher training, but these programs had mostly disappeared.

Schools felt "isolated and alone" in managing the problem, leading to a school system that is "more punitive than it was 10 years ago" on drug issues.

Earlier this year Jamie was sentenced in the Children's Court and given an 18-month probation order, which he is now appealing in the hope of receiving a diversion order and no criminal record.

The aspiring doctor said a criminal record may make it difficult for him to practise medicine and study overseas.

"I wanted to get into Harvard," he said. "If I have a criminal record I may not be able to get into the US."

His mother said he shouldn't be punished for the rest of his life for a childhood mistake.

"He's not a psychopath. He's a young boy who made a very stupid decision." 

*Names have been changed