NEW POLICY IN STOCKTON MAKES SENSE

Joining a growing list of area high schools, Stockton voted May 21 to
implement a random drug testing policy for students participating in
extracurricular activities.

A sad, but necessary and effective policy for kids participating in
sports and other after-school events.

Those who are of another generation are seeing a society they never
could have imagined. Gone are the days of innocence and universal
trust, when kids drove "the circuit," and juvenile delinquents wore
black leather.

Today, reality guides policy. And the reality is that teenagers have
unfettered access to alcohol, failing family structures and
unparalleled pressure from peers.

Keeping kids straight means adopting and enforcing policies that carry
consequence and quickly identify problems.

National statistics continue to show an alarming rate of use and abuse
by kids who start drinking in their early teens and, in some cases,
graduate to more serious drugs as they mature.

The costs, both to the individual and to society, are comparably
alarming. Estimates at the national level put the pricetag for
underage drug use at $58 billion for treatment, property damage and
personal loss.

Unlike Pearl City, Orangeville and Eastland, where similar testing
policies have been instituted, Stockton has a recent and personal
understanding of the consequence and cost of underage alcohol
consumption.

Lest we forget the tragic death of two young people in February in a
car crash after an underage drinking party.

Learning the lesson of illegal alcohol consumption or drug use does
not have to result in tragedy.

Enacting a drug testing policy will help keep kids straight, and
identify those who aren't, early enough to act.