WHY NOT START NOW?

My 24-year-old daughter's take on the issue of student drug testing
opened my eyes to a new angle on the situation - that of the students'
futures in our work force. She is firmly on the side of drug testing,
not because it could save students with drug problems and their
families years of living the nightmare of drug dependence and its
consequences, but because employers require drug testing of employees.
Drug testing is going to be a part of the future, so students had
better get used to it.

I have worked as a drug emergency hotline volunteer and have
experienced the trauma of drug and alcohol abuse in my immediate
family and can speak to the devastation dependency can inflict. Not
only does it disrupt the life of the abuser/victim but also every
member of the family, friends, jobs, etc. - every aspect of life is
ruined until the addiction is halted and reversed.

Simple drug testing can stop the nightmare by catching the disease at
its onset.

CAROL MATHEWS

Williamsburg