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DRUG TESTING COULD CAUSE DECLINE IN

Regarding Frank Pellegrino's Jan.  29 column in The Spectator, there is a downside to student drug tests.  Student involvement in after-school 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 participation in extracurricular programs.

Drug testing may also compel marijuana users to switch to harder drugs to avoid testing positive.

This is one of the reasons the American Academy of Pediatrics opposes student drug testing.  Despite a short-lived high, marijuana is the only illegal 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.  More dangerous synthetic drugs like methamphetamine and prescription narcotics are water-soluble and exit the body quickly.

If you think students don't know this, think again.  Anyone capable of running an Internet search can find out how to thwart a drug test.  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 each year than all illegal drugs combined.

Instead of wasting money on counterproductive drug tests, schools should invest in reality-based drug education.

Students who want to fight for civil rights and reform harmful drug laws should contact students for sensible drug policy at www.schoolsnotprisons.com.

Robert Sharpe

Arlington, Va.