Pubdate: Tue, 10 Feb 2004
Source: Daily Mississippian (MS Edu)
Copyright: 2004 The Daily Mississippian
Contact:  http://www.thedmonline.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1345
Author: Scott Russ
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n242/a10.html

DRUG TESTING FOR CHILDREN GOES AGAINST AMERICAN VALUES

Dear Editor,

Shouldn't we be asking why we're wasting money on drug testing our
children when all studies done on the matter say it does nothing to
prevent drug use? Who cares about results as long as we keep that drug
war gravy train rolling, right?

Now, it's no child's urine left behind. Why don't we just allow the
government to brand us with bar codes and insert computer chips under
our skin so it can monitor everything we ingest? Is a urinalysis the
new Pledge of Allegiance?

America is no longer the land of the free. Drug testing and the whole
drug war is a disgrace to everything our country was founded upon.
Current and past presidents have used some of the very substances that
these companies will be testing for, so what message are we really
sending our kids?

Our senators and representatives have conveniently exempted themselves
from drug testing while Drug Czar John Walters tours the country
pressuring school boards to implement drug testing for our children.
The hypocrisy of this is so thick it stinks. We allow "cool" beer
commercials and every sort of prescription drug commercial on TV and
radio, yet we somehow expect our children won't be tempted to use
drugs of one sort or another. This is a joke.

America had better wake up soon and let its representatives know that
we've had enough. Judge our children by the content of their
character, not the composition of their urine.

Scott Russ

Baton Rouge, La.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin