NEW DRUG WAR BATTLE PLAN

Our view: Police, teachers and treatment specialists are joining
forces across borders. What's needed are parents.

Want evidence that drugs are finding their way into the hands of
younger and younger kids? Here's some: Northampton police recently
arrested eight kids in 11 days for drug-related crimes. Five of them
were under 15. In the Pennsbury School District, fifth- and
sixth-graders are being placed in alternative programs that juniors
and seniors populated just a few years ago.

Recognizing that the decades-old war on drugs remains a steep and
thorny uphill battle, educators, police and treatment specialists are
combining forces. Those involved deserve commendations for redrafting
their battle plans. More importantly, they deserve - and need -
parental reinforcements.

That plea comes from Northampton police Chief Barry Pilla. "You can't
relegate the raising of your children to school authorities, the
police, whoever. ... Learn as much as you can about substance abuse,"
Pilla counsels. It is valuable advice.

Too many parents leave drug education to the schools and police
alone. Cops and teachers are doing their best. And the new effort to
coordinate education, enforcement and treatment strategies across
school district and community boundaries promises to gather more
resources than those agencies could obtain individually.

So area education and treatment programs could get a needed boost in
revenues. That's encouraging news. It's up to parents to provide a
needed morale boost by not only supplementing prevention efforts at
home, but by setting limits and standards for children - and
enforcing them.