THE DOWNSIDE OF STUDENT DRUG TESTS

The Stockton School Board needs to educate itself on the downside of
student drug testing. 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.
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 pharmaceuticals 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.

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

Washington, D.C.