DRUG TESTS' EASY LURE

Re "Family in Texas Challenges Mandatory School Drug Test" (front page,
April 17): Many of us who work in drug treatment are concerned that the
enactment of mandatory drug testing of high school students by the Lockney
school board in Texas will not be of benefit to local families unless it is
carried out as part of a drug prevention and counseling program.

Whether or not a student is found to have abused drugs, repetition of
antidrug messages is one of the most powerful deterrents against future drug
use.

While identifying children at risk of drug abuse through mandatory testing
may sound attractive, we must first be certain that communities have the
necessary prevention and treatment resources they will need to help students
and families.

PETER PROVET President, Odyssey House
New York, April 18, 2000