Pubdate: Fri, 19 Jul 2002
Source: Foster's Daily Democrat (NH)
Webpage: www4.fosters.com/news2002/july_02/jul19_02/comment/ccl_0719b.asp
Copyright: 2002 Geo. J. Foster Co.
Contact:  http://www.fosters.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/160
Author: Robert Sharpe

Editorial Response

DON'T WASTE EFFORTS ON STUDENT DRUG TESTING

I respectfully disagree with your July 7 editorial. Student involvement in 
extracurricular activities like sports has been shown to reduce drug use. 
They keep kids busy during the hours they are most likely to get into 
trouble. Forcing students to undergo degrading urine tests as a 
prerequisite will only discourage such activities.

Drug testing may also compel users of relatively harmless marijuana to 
switch to harder drugs to avoid testing positive. Despite a short- lived 
high, marijuana is the only drug that stays in the human body long enough 
to make urinalysis a deterrent. Marijuana's organic metabolites are 
fat-soluble and can linger for days.

Synthetic drugs are water-soluble and exit the body quickly. A student who 
takes ecstasy, meth or heroin on Friday night will likely test clean on 
Monday morning. If you think students don't know this, think again. Anyone 
capable of running a search on the Internet can find out how to thwart a 
drug test. Drug testing profiteers do not readily volunteer this 
information for obvious reasons.

The most commonly abused drug and the one most closely associated with 
violent behavior is almost impossible to detect with urinalysis. That drug 
is alcohol, and it takes far more student lives every year than all illegal 
drugs combined. Instead of wasting money on counterproductive drug tests, 
schools should invest in reality-based drug education.

Robert Sharpe

Program Officer, Drug Policy Alliance

Washington, D.C.
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