STOP STUDENT DRUG TESTS

Editor: Regarding Jon Benton's Gown & Town column Saturday, the
increase in prescription drug overdose deaths is part of nationwide trend.

Federally funded school drug tests are part of the problem. Marijuana
is the only drug that stays in the human body long enough to make
urinalysis a deterrent. Students know this. Anyone capable of an
Internet search can find out how to thwart a drug test.

Drug tests may compel marijuana smokers to switch to harder drugs.
This is one of the reasons the American Academy of Pediatrics opposes
student drug testing.

While culture warriors in Congress obsess over nonlethal marijuana,
prescription drug overdose deaths are skyrocketing. According to the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control, prescription drug overdose is now
second only to motor vehicle crashes as a cause of death from
unintentional injury in the United States.

The phrase "if it saves one life" has been used to justify all manner
of drug war intrusions. Eliminating drug tests that encourage the use
of deadly prescription drugs has the potential to save thousands of lives.

ROBERT SHARPE

analyst for Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, D.C.