Teens using drugs is as bad a mix as toddlers playing with matches. But keeping drugs away from teens - or more to the point, keeping teens away from drugs - is a more complicated endeavor than simply hiding the matches.

A recent BDN story about drug use in area high schools revealed the ease with which drugs can be obtained and used; less clear is the degree to which drugs are being used by students and whether this has changed over time. Those who said they smoke marijuana regularly, for instance, said "most" of their peers did as well. That perspective is probably not shared by all teens. As with most of the moral, ethical and health choices teens face, what they do and don't do comes down to character. Teens will experiment, and will make the wrong choice from time to time as part of the maturation process. This reality should be part of any high school drug policy.