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PROSECUTION WOULD HELP THWART DRUGS IN SCHOOLS

Prosecutor Jon Morris went public Wednesday with an explanation of why no charges have been filed yet on the theft and misuse of prescription drugs by a group of Lebanon High School students nearly three months ago.

Morris' explanation was welcome because of whispers in the community that the students are getting by with a slap on the wrist -- suspension from school but no criminal charges -- because of who they are.

Indeed, five of the 14 suspended students were members of the high- profile Yellowjacket baseball team that ultimately qualified for the state tournament.  The hypocrisy of teen-age athletes being suspended from school sports for one year due to drug misuse but still playing American Legion baseball this summer has not gone unnoticed by some parents whose children have managed to keep their noses clean.

This was a serious incident, far more serious than high-school jocks drinking beer at a party:

One-thousand tablets of Xanax -- a massive quantity of an anti-anxiety drug available only by prescription -- are alleged to have been stolen by one or more students from a Lebanon pharmacy.

Three students are alleged to have sold the stolen drugs to classmates.

Eleven students are alleged to have possessed or used the stolen drugs.

One spent a night in a Sedalia hospital because of drug abuse while on a school-sanctioned and faculty-supervised trip.

To their credit, school officials reacted swiftly, doling out suspensions from the classroom and from extracurricular activities in accordance with district policy.

But despite all these apparent violations of the law, despite that the three 17-year-old students suspected of the theft and distribution of the pills are adults in the eyes of the law, nobody has been charged with a crime three months after the fact.

Prosecutor Morris said one problem among several in the investigation is that none of the 1,000 stolen Xanax pills have surfaced.

"So it's an issue as to whether we can prove that, in fact, what was taken, what was distributed, was a controlled substance, because there's nothing there to test," Morris said.

Morris explained that without the pills, he has to explore other options.  "Those who investigated the case know what happened, but trying to prove legally what happened is more difficult."

We applaud Morris for wanting to make sure he has a case that will stick before he files charges.  But we hope he eventually gets what he needs.

Because if we're going to keep drugs out of our schools, we need to prosecute the people who bring them in.

Regardless whether the drug is marijuana, methamphetamine or Xanax.

And regardless who they are.