STUDENTS SAY DRUGS NOT HARD TO FIND

They're in our schools, our neighborhoods, even our homes.

Drugs are in the Hardin County community and readily available to those who
want them, some teens say. An informal poll of area high school students
suggests more than half of Hardin County teenagers know where to buy some
type of illegal substance.

You can get just about any drug you want, they say. Students said marijuana,
Ecstasy, cocaine, methamphetamines, speed and Oxycontin are all available to
them.

In addition, students said they could get those drugs from friends, on the
Internet, in rural areas, neighbors' houses - and even from some parents.

"You can probably get them anywhere you want to," said Benjamin Morgan, a
North Hardin High School junior.

North Hardin junior Lajoya Debreaux insists some people smoke mari-juana
outside in a neighbor-hood near her high school.

"What is the point of smoking in the daylight when cops are right around?"
she asked.

Debreaux said she thinks most of the drug activity in the community does not
happen in the school.

"It's not so much in the school, but around the school," she said.

Similar to a recent drug raid at Elizabethtown High School, North Hardin and
John Hardin high schools have had canine units search lockers and vehicles
for illegal substances this year. The North Hardin and John Hardin searches
yielded nothing.

Five students at Elizabethtown were charged earlier this month with
possession of marijuana and/or paraphernalia.

Local law enforcement officials said juveniles are likely getting their
drugs from some of the same sources as adults. Police said they continue to
actively pursue leads on dealers who target young people.

But they also need the help of students to give them tips and to report
illegal activity.

Though some students said they have seen drug transactions in the school,
the greater access lies outside school and in our communities.

"It's right around the corner," said Desmond Thompson, a John Hardin senior.