STUDENT DRUG TESTING HITS SNAG

A proposal to test high-school students for drug use is running into
problems in the Legislature, as two Senate committees yesterday opted to
study the issue further rather than push the idea.

Drug testing for high schools is largely backed by Senate President Robert
Bunda, D-22nd (North Shore, Wahiawa), who introduced the measure and first
brought up the idea in his opening-day speech last month. Gov. Linda Lingle
also supported the concept in her State of the State address a week later.

Senate Bill 1471 would establish a drug-testing pilot project at several
public high schools, making the tests mandatory for students who
participate in school athletic activities or "physically strenuous"
co-curricular activities. That provision is based on a U.S. Supreme Court
decision that found an Oregon school district's student athlete
drug-testing program constitutional.

Students who tested positive on a hair analysis would be referred to
counseling or treatment rather than punished.

An overwhelming majority of those who testified before the Senate Education
and Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs committees yesterday said they
appreciated the bill's intent, but said it was rife with problems. Some
senators raised similar concerns.

"At this point, there are many unanswered questions, and there's concerns
about the funding; there's concerns about the privacy, confidentiality;
concerns about potential liability," said Senate Education Committee
Chairman Norman Saka-moto, D-15th (Waimalu, Airport, Salt Lake), after the
hearing. "So since it's still very much a work in prog-ress, the feeling
was if we did a (resolution) to try to convene a group or a process to
address the issues, that would be better at this point."

Elaine Wilson, chief of the state Department of Health's Alcohol and Drug
Abuse Division, said a survey in 2000 found 14 percent of students in
grades six through 12 need substance-abuse treatment.

Opponents of the bill said drug problems among students should be handled
through more prevention programs, and that testing would accomplish little
amid a lack of treatment programs in schools.

"Until funds are available for treatment, what's the point of identifying
children in need?" said Pam Lichty, a drug-treatment advocate and board
president of the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai'i.

Opponents also questioned why drug testing should target students who
participate in sports and other activities, who are less likely to take
drugs. They said such a program might even discourage at-risk students from
getting involved in extracurricular activities, which typically deters
students from substance abuse.

They also expressed concern about the expense of drug testing.

Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona called the proposal a "bold and assertive first
step" in dealing with drug problems among Hawai'i students, and said the
cost for the state likely would be low. He said he already had received
some private-sector interest in working with the state on the program.

Other supporters of the bill, such as the Honolulu city prosecutor's
office, said drug testing would be an effective deterrent to experimenting
with drugs, and that preventing drug problems would save the criminal
justice system money in the future.

Wilson cited an Oregon study that found 5.7 percent of athletes in a school
with drug testing used illegal drugs within a month, compared with 19.4
percent at a school without testing.