DRUGS IN SCHOOLS

Plenty of ideas to curb use of illegal drugs in schools came out of
last week's meeting between Fairbanks school board members and
representatives of local law enforcement agencies. But one was notably
absent from an account of the session.

Parental inquiry.

How can it be that drugs such as marijuana and cocaine are, as one
Alaska State Trooper told board members, easy for students to get?
Marijuana is what youngsters want, he said. More alarming is the
comment that cocaine, a drug that can ruin a life with great rapidity,
is gaining favor among school-age children. Illegal drugs, as
difficult as it may seem, have already found their way into elementary
schools.

Law enforcement agencies are limited in what they can achieve,
however. They already work closely with the schools, but only so much
can be accomplished when schools have hundreds of students. So the
fight against drug abuse can be furthered best from only two other
places: the education system and the home.

The schools are trying. A special task force on student discipline
might come up with recommendations for battling drugs on school
grounds, but will any suggestions go far enough?

Opposition would no doubt surface to some of the possible choices:
mandatory drug testing for students involved in extracurricular
activities, closing the high school campuses during school hours,
calling law agencies about a student's suspected drug use before
calling that student's parents.

Less clear is whether parents are doing all they can. What is clear is
that the lure of drugs and the creativity of children make it a
difficult effort, one that has perhaps become more so with the advent
of pagers and cell phones that make it easier for drug transactions to
occur.

How important is parental involvement in preventing drug
abuse?

The National Institute on Drug Abuse says parental monitoring and
supervision are critical. So is parental education about drugs.

"Drug education and information for parents or caregivers reinforces
what children are learning about the harmful effects of drugs and
opens opportunities for family discussions about the abuse of legal
and illegal substances," the institute says in one of its reports.

Fairbanks educators are advancing their discussion of what to do.
Parents should consider doing likewise with their children. They can
find information online from the National Institute on Drug Abuse
(www.drugabuse.gov) and the Office of National Drug Control Policy
(www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov).