"We see a lot of problems that the kids have today and a lot of it starts in the home," said Capt. Zim Schwartze of the Columbia Police Department. "I can have an influence for a brief amount of time. Teachers have an influence on kids today for a brief amount of time."

Another goal of the town hall meeting was to get all of the information out into the open.

"It's something that the school board knows about, police know about and parents know about," said Justin Hienz, a writer for Inside Columbia magazine. "It's just that people seem a little hesitant to talk about it, so this was a good way to bring all the information together."

According to Inside Columbia:

A district task force investigating drug abuse in schools will present its findings this month and next month.