THWARTING DRUG TESTS

The Jan. 10 article "Academy Drug Woes Eyed" on drug testing at the Air
Force Academy pointed out a fundamental flaw in drug testing. Simply put,
drug tests inadvertently encourage the use of hard drugs. Marijuana is the
only drug that stays in the human body long enough to make urinalysis a
deterrent.

Because marijuana metabolites are fat-soluble, they can linger for weeks.
Harder drugs like ecstasy and meth are water-soluble and exit the human
body within a few days, sooner if the user chooses to flush his or her
system with water. If you think cadets don't know this, think again. Any
one capable of running a search on the Internet can find out how to thwart
a drug test.

Why is this relevant? Because the growing use of ecstasy in America is in
part a result of drug testing. A cadet who takes ecstasy on Friday night
will likely test clean on Monday morning. Ironically, the least dangerous
recreational drug (marijuana) is the only one whose use is discouraged by
testing. Drug testing profiteers do not readily volunteer this information,
for obvious reasons.

Robert Sharpe

Washington, D.C.