ERADICATING DRUGS WILL BE A PIPE DREAM FOR AS LONG AS WE CONTINUE TO IGNORE
THEM

Decision time looms: At what point do we, as a community, get involved to
try, once and for all, to wipe out drugs in our children's schools?

Two more kids found themselves in trouble last week for possession of
marijuana, this time at LaRue County High School. Their arrests came less
than a month after five Elizabethtown High pupils were brought up on
similar charges.

Again, when does the community step in?

Sam Sanders, LaRue County's superintendent, this week called on parents,
school officials and community leaders to collaborate on solving any drug
problem. The message that needs to be sent: Illegal drugs have no place in
society, especially in schools.

First, let's admit a couple of things:

* No matter how diligent or optimistic we might be, drugs never will be
completely eradicated. Access is too easy, and addiction is too strong.

* Seven arrests at two schools do not constitute widespread problems.
Several schools have been searched by police over the last year. Other than
LaRue and Elizabethtown highs, no illegal substances were found.

That said, the stand being taken by local school districts is commendable.
Running drug dogs unannounced through buildings and grounds does more than
nail drug offenders. It tends to incite fear, which serves as a viable and
worthwhile deterrent to others.

Many educators seem to employ a no-tolerance approach to those who are
caught by suspending them and pushing for expulsion. Those hard-line
tactics ought to continue.

But schools cannot find a solution alone. It takes vigilance on everyone's
part - from law enforcement to parents to kids themselves - to cripple
drugs' exposure locally.

Parents need to continue to preach to their children about the ill effects
of illegal substances. Law enforcement needs to continue schooling kids on
the legal ramifications of possession and usage, and perhaps even show them
what life is like behind bars for those whose lives have been wrecked by drugs.

Most of all, children need to listen.

One child being charged with possession is one too many. But what will we,
as a community and as individuals, do about it?

That is a question we all need to consider.