Pubdate: Fri, 11 Aug 2006
Source: Springfield News-Leader (MO)
Copyright: 2006 The Springfield News-Leader
Contact:  http://www.springfieldnews-leader.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1129
Author:  DeForest Rathbone
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

TESTS ARE A GOOD HEALTH POLICY

Your opposition to random student drug testing (RSDT) seems based 
upon an unrealistic understanding of what the program is and how it 
works. Your scenario of the failed druggie football player is totally 
wrong. In typical RSDT schools, the positive test would only result 
in a confidential conference between the student, his parents and a 
school drug counselor for discussion of a plan to protect the student 
from the health hazards of intoxicating and additive substances.

In many RSDT programs he would not even be suspended from the team on 
a first positive. In results reported from the thousands of schools 
throughout the U.S. using RSDT, they typically report finding less 
than 1 percent positives and few to no second positives. Because RSDT 
is essentially a school health screening for drugs to protect kids 
from going on to become one of the 3,000 people currently dying of 
overdose each month, I agree with you that it should apply to all 
kids, not just athletes and drivers.

DeForest Rathbone

Great Falls, Va.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman