WHITE HOUSE ADVISOR CALLS FOR DRUG TESTING IN SCHOOLS

TUNICA -- One of the nation's top drug control policy advisers is
calling for random drug testing in schools to deter substance abuse
and will identify children who need help.

But a number of Mississippi officials were skeptical about due process
and privacy issues that accompany such testing.

"We have this disease, and it is being spread from child to child,"
said Scott M. Burns, the deputy director for state and local affairs
in the White House's office of national drug control policy.

Burns spoke Thursday at the Mississippi Association of Drug Court
Professionals at a casino's conference center near Tunica.

Burns' office advises President Bush on drug control policies and
strategies, and establishes the nation's drug control program.

He said the approximate cost of testing is $35 per student, and added,
"whether or not a kid is addicted to a disease is as important as half
the price of a pair of gym shoes or the current jean craze."

Burns said he believes testing should start at the junior-high level
because children as young as age 11 can begin experimenting with drugs.

Rankin County Court Judge Tom Broome said while results of drug
testing have been favorable, he said there were issues of due process
and privacy rights which must be protected.

"Experimentation (with drugs) can be stopped before it becomes
addiction," Broome said. "One of the benefits is, the deterrence
factor keeps a lot of them from venturing down that path."

Hinds County Justice Court Judge Frank Sutton expressed reservations,
suggesting that there should be parental input before a student is
tested.

Burns said of the roughly 19.1 million illegal drug users, seven
million meet the clinical definition of being addicted, but only two
million are in treatment.

He said national statistics have shown a decline in juvenile drug
use.

"It's because of people like you pushing back," he told an audience.