The lead article in last weekend's STAR told of a bad situation which has got worse.

The story told of a not so new situation which sad to say, has taken a next wrong turn.

The article stated that the police are concerned about the extent to which students are going to smuggle marijuana into their schools. This is distressing to say the least.

It is truly disheartening to see that students are stooping to such levels and doing nothing but hurt themselves in the process. Any mind that can think to hide marijuana in a pen, school tie, or asthma pump, as the article claimed, is truly a creative one.

As such, it is definitely regrettable that these creative minds are being utilised for the wrong reasons.

Can you imagine if such creativity was being focused on more positive issues?

As a result, much more attention needs to be directed to our children, especially those attending high schools. This, simply because such institutions have a wider cross-section of students from various communities and backgrounds. And sad to say, there is always a mix of the 'good' and the 'bad', and the ever-present factor of peer pressure.

Greater attention needs to be placed on our teenagers' interaction with their peers. In doing so, while good results may not present themselves in the blink of an eye, a maintained presence of such initiatives would eventually benefit the students, our education system and the country.