FORCED DRUG TESTS IN SCHOOLS IS A BAD IDEA

Regarding Brian Enriquez's Aug. 17 letter, the U.S. Supreme Court
erred when it created a drug-war exemption to the Constitutional and
ruled in favor of drug testing students in extracurricular activities.
Student involvement in after-school activities like sports has been
shown to reduce drug use. They keep kids busy during the hours they
are most likely to get into trouble.

Forcing students to undergo degrading urine tests as a prerequisite
will only discourage participation. Drug testing may also compel
marijuana users to switch to harder drugs to avoid testing positive.
Despite a short-lived high, marijuana is the only illegal drug that
stays in the human body long enough to make urinalysis a deterrent.

Marijuana's organic metabolites are fat-soluble and can linger for
days. More dangerous synthetic drugs like crystal methamphetamine
(ice) 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. Drug-testing
profiteers do not readily volunteer this information, for obvious reasons.

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
counterproductive drug tests, schools should invest in reality-based
drug education.

ROBERT SHARPE, MPA

policy analyst , Common Sense for Drug Policy , Arlington, Va.