Pubdate: Fri, 11 Sep 2009
Source: DrugSense Weekly (DSW)
Website: http://www.drugsense.org

LETTER OF THE WEEK

CHANCES OF FALSE POSITIVE TOO HIGH

My applause to the enlightened Galena High School parents who voted 
against mandatory random drug testing.

The legal issues here, although disturbing, are not my area of 
expertise and I'll refrain from comment. As an analytical chemist 
whose career was largely devoted to drug analysis, I do feel 
qualified to make the following comments:

Drug testing is not something that should be placed in the hands of 
bureaucratic amateurs. All screening tests can produce false 
positives and, depending on the manufacturer, some more than others. 
Rather than counseling, a positive result for a screening test 
requires a more rigorous confirmatory test, usually 
GCMS.  Additionally, there are tests to confirm the integrity of the 
sample to check for adulteration, dilution for example.

I seriously doubt that all of this, if done right, can be achieved 
for $40.  For such testing to hold up, it should be performed in an 
accredited laboratory where control results are included.  The 
possibility that even one student could have a young life upended 
with a false positive result is enough for me as a Galena parent to vote no.

Marian Pettibone

Reno

Pubdate: Mon, 31 Aug 2009

Source: Reno Gazette-Journal (NV)

Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n000/a173.html

Note: From the newspaper's website "Marian Pettibone of Reno is this 
week's winner of the Silver Pen award for the best letter published 
in the Gazette-Journal during the previous week. Weekly Silver Pen 
winners are selected by the newspaper's editorial board based on the 
quality of writing, clarity of expression and strength of opinion."
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake