Pubdate: Fri, 14 Mar 2008
Source: Baytown Sun, The (TX)
Copyright: 2008sBaytown Sun
Contact:  http://web.baytownsun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1696
Author: David Bloom
Note: Editorial written by David Bloom, managing editor of  The Baytown Sun,
on behalf of the newspaper's editorial  board.

DRUG TESTING

Starting next school year, the  Goose Creek school district will
implement random  drug-testing program for high school students in
grades  nine through 12 who participate in school-sponsored
extracurricular activities or have a permit to drive  and park at the
campus. Why? Because school officials  want to take whatever steps
necessary to protect the  health and future of these same students.

In fact, we believe the school district is obligated to  use every
means at its disposal to deter kids from drug  use.

Drug testing is not a substitute for all efforts to  reduce student
drug use, but it does make all those  efforts much stronger and more
effective.

The truth is, too many of our children are getting lost  in drug and
alcohol use.

It is our responsibility to help children make the  right choices. One
of the worst decisions children can  make is to gamble their lives and
futures on drugs.  Parents and educators have a responsibility to keep
  children and teens safe from drug use.

For many students, drug testing will serve as a wake-up  call. For
these students, a positive drug test is so  embarrassing that the test
itself becomes an  intervention.

There are others, however, who have begun using alcohol  and drugs,
who are not responsive to prevention  messages. Many of these users
have not yet experienced  the adverse health effects of their drug
use, academic  decline, and trouble with law enforcement agencies. But
  they will.

One of the best ways to block the spread of drug use is  through early
intervention. The idea is to identify  users, through drug testing and
other means, then steer  them from drugs to counseling, if necessary,
before  they become addicted or entice others to use drugs.

Drug testing not only helps identify students who use  drugs; it also
creates a deterrent to use. It helps  young people cope with peer
pressure, giving them a  convenient reason to say no.

There is no one thing that will keep kids off drugs;  it's a
combination of strategies. It starts with home  education: talking to
our kids about alcohol and drug  use and the consequences of such use.

The bottom line: We need to get between our kids and  drugs any way we
can.

Editorial written by David Bloom, managing editor of  The Baytown Sun,
on behalf of the newspaper's editorial  board.
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MAP posted-by: Derek