DRUG TESTING FOR STUDENTS

The De Soto school board needs to educate itself on the downside of
student drug testing (11/19, Local, "De Soto schools consider drug
testing; Administrators favor random checks, but an expert doubts
their value as a deterrent").

Student involvement in after-school activities like sports has been
shown to reduce drug use. Forcing students to undergo degrading urine
tests as a prerequisite will only discourage participation in
extracurricular programs.

Drug testing may also compel marijuana users to switch to harder drugs
to avoid testing positive. This is one of the reasons the American
Academy of Pediatrics opposes student drug testing.

Marijuana's organic metabolites are fat-soluble and can linger for
days. More-dangerous synthetic drugs like methamphetamine and
prescription narcotics are water-soluble and exit the body quickly. If
you think drug users don't know this, think again. Anyone capable of
running an Internet search can find out how to thwart a drug test.

The most commonly abused drug and the one most closely associated with
violent behavior is almost impossible to detect with urinalysis. That
drug is alcohol, and it takes far more student lives each year than
all illegal drugs combined. Instead of wasting money on drug tests,
schools should invest in reality-based drug education.

ROBERT SHARPE

Policy analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, D.C.