PUSH FOR TESTING

The proposal being pushed by Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey to institute
parent-approved drug testing at Massachusetts' public high schools has
merit and should find support with legislators.

Under Healey's plan, which must still be approved by the Legislature as
part of a $9.1 million anti-drug package, students would be tested during
the regular school day, provided their parents had given permission. Healey
realizes that students' drug use can't be halted if it hasn't been
discovered. Sometimes parents and guardians can be blind to things they
don't want to see.

Healey is also pressing to establish two "sober" high schools for youths
who are recovering addicts and increased spending on both short-term
detoxification and long-term treatment. That's important. Treatment and
recovery must be part of any plan to help young drug users.

"We can not afford to wait any longer to take action," Healey said when
announcing her proposal. She's right.

Massachusetts is in the top five among states with the highest alcohol- and
drug-use rates. Abuse of OxyContin and heroin -- which is much cheaper and
easier to use today than in years past -- is growing dramatically. Steps
must be taken to stem the rising tide of addiction and drug- and
alcohol-related deaths. We recognize there are privacy issues with the
proposed random drug testing, just as there are with locker searches. Some
parents and their teenagers strongly oppose them. But many other parents
and students recognize the problems caused by drug and alcohol use. They
see the value of drug testing, even while resenting the lack of trust it
implies and the kind of atmosphere random drug testing will create.

Parents can't -- and shouldn't -- trust children who are using drugs or
alcohol. Trust has to be earned. It's not a right. Random testing is a
valid way to identify students who need help, students who might otherwise
go unnoticed. Alcohol and drug abuse are seriously dangerous issues among
high-school and middle-school students. Every year, it seems, the numbers
get worse as more (and younger) students flirt with danger by experimenting
with illegal drugs. Students who are using drugs and alcohol need
assistance while they are young and more readily influenced, and before
addiction takes its inevitable toll. Healey's proposal would go a long way
toward helping students who are starting down the wrong path in life.