DRUG TESTS IN SCHOOLS COUNTERPRODUCTIVE

Your April. 24th editorial on student drug testing was right on target. The
Supreme Court's latest drug war exemption to the Constitution may do more
harm than good. 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. Synthetic drugs are water-soluble and exit the body quickly. If
you think students 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