FEDERAL OFFICIAL TOUTS DRUG TESTING

ROBINSONVILLE -- Drug testing in schools is an effective tool to
identify children who need help and deter illegal drug use, one of
the nation's top drug control policy advisers told a conference of
Mississippi drug court judges, staff and treatment providers on Thursday.

"We have this disease and it is being spread from child to
child,"said Scott M. Burns, deputy director for State and Local
Affairs in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Prevention is the most effective approach, Burns said.

Burns was the keynote speaker for more than 100 members of the
Mississippi Association of Drug Court Professionals at the group's
second annual training conference at Grand Casino Conference Center.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy advises the president on
national and international drug control policies and strategies. Its
purpose is to establish policies, priorities and objectives for the
nation's drug control program.

The cost of drug testing is among the arguments often cited against
using it in schools. Burns put the price in perspective: "It costs
about $35 for a test. Whether or not a kid is addicted to a disease
is as important as half the price of a pair of gym shoes or the
current jean craze."

Federal money is available to set up student drug testing programs,
Burns said.

Burns said he favors school-wide, random drug testing, not just
testing athletes or cheerleaders or some other select group. He said
the testing needs to start in junior high because children ages 11 to
13 begin experimenting with drugs at that age.

Rankin County Court Judge Tom Broome, whose duties include Youth
Court, said that he's seen favorable results from drug testing of
students in Rankin County Public Schools and Pearl Public Schools.

"It's beneficial because those children may never enter the Youth
Court system. It's our hope that some of those problems will be
stopped before they become greater," Broome said.