SKIP THE DRUG TESTING

Regarding your editorial Dec. 6 titled "A valuable test for
students," 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 in extracurricular programs.

Drug testing may also compel marijuana users to switch to harder
drugs to avoid testing positive. This is one of the reasons the
American Academy of Pediatrics opposes student drug testing. 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. More dangerous synthetic drugs like methamphetamine and
prescription narcotics are water-soluble and exit the body quickly.
If you think drug users don't know this, think again. Anyone capable
of running an Internet search can find out how to thwart a drug test.

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

Policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, D.C.