PARENT RAISES ISSUE OF HIGH SCHOOL DRUG ABUSE

CLAYTON -- After a Clayton High School parent took his 16-year-old out
of school three weeks ago over concerns about drug use on campus,
parents and community members have begun to question the pervasiveness
of drug use in Johnston County high schools.

Mark Grady, a local filmmaker, put his son into a private school,
claiming the boy had been offered drugs on campus. After that
incident, Grady began posting a number of statements on his Facebook
page, urging parents to become aware.

Parents and community members are responding to his complaints about
the schools keeping mum on details of drug use on campus.

The Johnston County Sheriff's Office is responsible for placing
resource officers at the district high schools and the alternative
campus in Smithfield.

Sheriff Steve Bizzell said that he was not aware of any increase in
drug use on campus, and said that the majority of cases involve
students who have drugs on them but are not on campus with the intent
to sell or purchase.

Similar numbers

So far in the 2011-2012 school year, Clayton High School has reported
three incidents involving the possession of alcohol and five drug
possession cases. Corinth Holders High School has reported no cases of
either alcohol or controlled substances, according to data from
Johnston County Schools.

Last year, Clayton High School had 11 drug possession incidents and
three incidents involving alcohol on campus. Corinth Holders had 17
drug incidents and no alcohol incidents.

Bizzell said that if there has been an increase in any kind of drug
abuse among teens, it's been an increase in the trend of using stolen
or fraudulently obtained prescription drugs. He said he has heard more
and more reports of kids stealing prescription pain killers from
family members.

He added that drug dealing is one of the hardest things to
prevent.

As for dealing on campus, he said that's not the usual situation in a
drug-related crime on campus.

Solving the problem

Oliver Johnson, executive director for student services at Johnston
County Schools, said he hasn't been aware of an increased drug problem.

Johnson said that while the district has no drug prevention program in
high school beyond the mention in health class, student advocates who
work to curb dropout prevention and school counselors all receive
training in drug prevention and have access to videos and
informational pamphlets.