ALAMANCE DRUG BUST WELL WORTH THE EFFORT

In a sweeping statement that took equal parts money, commitment and guts,
law enforcement and school officials in Alamance County have made it clear:
Drugs will not be tolerated in public schools.

Lest anyone second-guess their decision to mount a major, five-month
undercover drug operation in local high schools, consider these numbers:
Drug possession was the most-reported crime on public school campuses
across North Carolina last year. Here in Guilford County, 41 percent of the
offenses documented on the state's annual report on school crime and
violence were drug-related.

Rockingham County logged 53 percent, followed by Davidson County with 50
percent. Still, Wayne Kirkman, chairman of the Rockingham County school
board, told the News & Record, "I don't think we have that problem."
Kirkman should think again.

In an investigation dubbed "Operation Safe Schools," youthful-looking
police officers enrolled in every Alamance-Burlington high school and posed
as students. The officers bought marijuana, cocaine and other drugs from
classmates.

Authorities arrested 50 teens for peddling drugs, including basketball star
JamesOn Curry, a UNC-Chapel Hill recruit whose future as a college athlete
is now in jeopardy.

What happens next is crucial. Prosecution of the students should be firm
but not unduly harsh. After all, tough lessons can be taught without young
lives being ruined, especially among first offenders.

Enforcement is but one piece of the puzzle, and arguably it is not the most
important. It treats the symptom, not root causes. The problem of drug use
among teens requires a holistic approach that also includes education,
treatment and dialogue. Parents must be involved in their children's lives,
aware of what they're doing.

Indeed, the undercover operation in Alamance County apparently was driven
by parents who expressed growing concern about possible drug problems in
their children's schools. They should be commended for recognizing a red
flag -- and for responding.

Enforcement can, as it did in Alamance County, raise everyone's awareness
of the problem and send a powerful message. Five-month drug stings on
public schoolyards should hardly become routine occurrences in the Triad.
But the fact that another one could happen is not lost on our young people.
The mere prospect that a classmate purporting to buy marijuana is really a
cop should serve as an effective deterrent.