DRUG TESTING MEETS OPPOSITION

Local drug treatment specialists yesterday opposed a proposal to begin drug
testing in public schools, saying such a policy would erode student-adult trust
with no clear evidence that it would deter students from using drugs and no
guarantee of treatment for those who test positive.

State lawmakers gathered for a House-Senate Task Force on Ice and Drug
Abatement to hear more about drug testing and other issues, especially those
related to crystal methamphetamine, also known as ice.

Meanwhile, Gov. Linda Lingle yesterday said she wants to focus more drug-abuse
prevention efforts in Hawai'i's middle schools.

"The lieutenant governor and I have strong feelings about this, that that's
where you want to put a lot of the prevention funding," Lingle said. "We think
that's the time where kids can go one way or they can go the other, so we think
that that kind of positive intervention at that stage is good."

Elaine Wilson, chief of the Health Department's Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Division, has said the biggest jump in student drug use is between the sixth
and eighth grades.

Earlier this year, Lingle said she supported voluntary drug testing for
students, as long as students who test positive receive help rather than
punishment. Lingle said all of the recommendations from the Waikiki drug summit
were positive because they indicate an understanding of the need for
prevention, treatment and law enforcement to fight drug abuse in the state.

Yesterday, she said she planned to meet with Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona to
discuss recommendations that came out of last week's three-day Hawai'i Drug
Control Strategy Summit in Waikiki. Aiona spearheaded the summit, which drew
about 400 people from various backgrounds.

The Kalihi YMCA provides substance-abuse treatment services across O'ahu at
most public high schools. At yesterday's legislative hearing, officials said
the treatment programs have shown some positive results: half of those who
complete the program each year remain drug-free six months after treatment
ends, 80 percent are in school or job training and nearly 90 percent have not
been arrested.

Tony Pfaltzgraff, co-executive director of the Kalihi YMCA, said on-campus
programs work to establish trust with the students. To require drug tests
"would really create an atmosphere of suspicion," he said.

University of Hawai'i law professor Jon Van Dyke said it's not clear whether
drug testing would be allowed under Hawai'i law.

Van Dyke, a constitutional law specialist, said a review of relevant cases
nationally and locally shows that testing has been rejected in some states and
accepted in others, under varying circumstances.

Pam Lichty, a drug-treatment advocate with the Drug Policy Forum, said that
using drug tests to exclude students from sports and extracurricular activities
would tend to identify them as drug users even while the system would aim to
protect their confidentiality. And banning them from positive activities --
which tend to help keep them away from drugs -- would seem counterproductive.