DRUG TESTING FACTS MISREPRESENTED

In his March 12 column, sports editor Nick Gholson claims that student drug
testing has been proven to be "effective in discouraging drug use by some
students"

But the largest study ever conducted on the topic - funded by the National
Institute on Drug Abuse - found that drug testing is "not associated with
either the prevalence or frequency of student marijuana use, or of other
illicit drug use."

Gholson also says that "usually the only people against drug tests are the
druggies." But opponents of student drug testing include the National
Education Association, the American Public Health Association, the American
Academy of Pediatrics, the National Association of Social Workers, and the
National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence.

I thought journalists were supposed to check the facts - instead of making
them up - before reporting them.

Tom Angell, Communications Director

Students for Sensible Drug Policy

Washington, DC

Edtior's Note: The Web site www.studentdrugtesting.org -- from which
Wichita Falls school administrators are reportedly studying information --
reports as "The Facts" that "schools that have implemented non-disciplinary
student drug testing programs have found the programs to be effective in
reducing drug use and improving the learning environment for all students."