DRUG POLICY REVOKES RIGHTS

Your editorial agreement with a ruling from U.S. District Judge David L.
Russell, that public schools can force students to submit to drug testing,
is inexcusable. Again, you take the side of the political establishment for
taking away the rights of U.S. citizens, adolescents included. The
constitutional prohibition against unlawful search and seizure must be
protected. There has been no crime, so no probable cause exists. How can
you condone subjecting adolescent citizens to this unlawful search and
seizure of their bodily fluids?

And authorities must watch while the subject "fills the bottle" so there is
no tampering with the sample - an invasion of privacy. With policies
against corporal punishment, inappropriate touching and giving someone a
cough drop in force in many school districts today, how do we expect these
children to not feel violated?

I would. The editorial states, "It seems legally plausible that a policy
deemed constitutional for one segment of a student body - those in
extracurricular activities - would also apply to the student body in
general." Let me suggest a "legally plausible" application of your mandated
drug testing: a mandate that all politicians, from the president to the
justice of the peace, and all government employees, fill the bottle while
we watch. Surely the medicine you prescribe for adolescent citizens is good
enough for mature, responsible government servants.

After all, their decision-making abilities should not be compromised by
drug use. The child playing in the band who gives his buddy a cough drop
for a sore throat is far from a threat to society.

Judging by previous rulings, it can be assumed that "we the people" have no
legal authority to ensure a safe and appropriate governmental environment.

Trey Russell, Amarillo