THERE'S A DOWN SIDE TO DRUG TESTS

Here are the undeniable facts:

o The sale and use of illegal drugs costs America thousands of lives,
billions of dollars in lost productivity and an untold number of families.

o Mandatory testing in the workplace and schools deters a meaningful
percentage of would-be recreational drug users.

Therefore the logical inference to be drawn is: America's businesses and
schools should dramatically increase the implementation of drug screens and
sanctions.

But why don't I totally buy it?

Understand, please, I'm eliminating from this discussion any professions
that directly impinge on public health or safety. That said, I don't
believe that workers in general and students in particular should be
required or even pressured to share information about the chemicals in
their bodies.

THIS DISCLAIMER, if you will: My views on this matter differ from the
association that pays my salary, most law enforcement agencies, the
American Medical Association and the preponderance of political leaders who
address this "third rail" topic.

They will tell you - and it makes sense - that anything that stops an
individual from starting or continuing the downward spiral of drug use is
worth doing.

Here's my feeble counterpoint. Among the lessons life's experiences have
taught me, one stands out: People will either make the hard choices in
their lives or will allow others to make those decisions for them.

In order, I argue, to ever stand and deliver when the chips are down, a
person must have a value system he has developed through trial, error and
eventual wisdom.

You can't short cut the process.

For example, when parents allow their children a little more room to make
serious choices as they show the ability to reason, it's an example of
promoting growth.

We need, however, to be aware that this growth occurs amid setbacks and bad
decisions. That's how we learn; that's how values are shaped.

HERE'S THE POINT: If the only reason someone temporarily avoids drugs or
any other destructive vice is because he needs to clean up for a job
interview or to get through school, he's internalized nothing that will
help him later.

And, sure enough, temptations will arise someday when no one is watching.
That's when the real choice will be made.

This analogy might be simplistic, but I would much rather hire a person to
work my cash register who sees theft as wrong than one who knows when the
security cameras are on.

Glen Turpoff is executive director of the Northern Illinois Building
Contractors Association.