DRUG TESTS WON'T INFLUENCE KIDS

Re: Drug tests benefit kids, parents, Sept. 29 letter to the editor:

As a high school student who graduated from Northeast High School,
played football, was on the track team, and tried smoking cannabis
(marijuana) my senior year, I can assure you that at 17 years old,
urine tests would not have changed a thing for me.

Everyone knows that harder drugs, such as alcohol, LSD, cocaine,
heroin, ecstasy and methamphetamine take much less time to leave one's
system and, thus, become more attractive to those who desire to do
drugs but have to pee in a cup. I'd prefer my children smoke cannabis
to any of these dangerous substances.

Alcohol metabolites in urine are undetectable in a matter of hours.
Calvina Fay implies otherwise in her misleading letter. Research in
2003 at the University of Michigan clearly showed that random drug
testing had no effect on student drug use statistics.

Ms. Fay's statement that athletes are somehow role models is truly
amusing. Being the biggest, fastest, strongest, or being able to jump
the highest doesn't make one a role model in my book. When I was a
child, my parents were my role models, Jesus was my role model, and my
parents knew about my drug use when it started. We had open lines of
communication and trust, and I didn't have to fear them knowing the
truth.

This is just the latest example of how some Republicans in our
community think the schools should take on more responsibility of the
parents. Parents already can take their children and have them
drug-tested. The misconception here is that you can't already do this.
If you need to inspect your child's urine to know what is going on, I
assure you, you are doing something wrong.

For the record, I am not a Democrat.

ANTHONY LORENZO

Sarasota