MANY PROBLEMS WITH DRUG TESTING

I read in the paper that Hempfield Area School District is considering
using drug screen testing kits with a 95 percent accuracy rate.

To put this in perspective, the district employs about 800 people. Let's
select 40 of them and tell them their drug tests are positive, or go to
Park City and arrest 5 out of every 100 people who walk through the door.
They'll have their day in court to prove they are innocent.

Of course, for the student that was wrongly accused of using drugs and
becomes so distraught that he commits suicide before the lab test results
are completed, this is of little value. All will be left with the social
stigma of failing the drug test.

The article mentioned the district is planning to expand drug testing to
include other drugs beyond marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, opiates or
PCP. What the article failed to mention is that the accuracy testing rate
for these drugs drops below 95 percent, and the confirmation lab test also
is not as accurate!

What is the procedure if the student is unable to produce a urine sample?
What training has the collector received? What does the collector do if the
student returns with a sample that appears to have been adulterated? Is an
observed collection then required?

I have extensive experience with the drug and alcohol testing program
implemented by the Federal Department of Transportation. For the Federal
Transit Administration I've conducted drug and alcohol compliance audits in
more than 30 states, and I teach a drug and alcohol "best practices"
seminar. I'm presenting a seminar in Philadelphia on April 24 and in Fort
Worth, Texas, on May 13. The school board members should attend an
educational seminar and not rely entirely on information provided by the
drug testing kit supplier. The school board and the administration needs to
learn more about how to properly conduct drug testing before they ruin a
child's life.

If the district wants to institute drug testing, they should spend the
money necessary to have the testing done by certified individuals, and the
procedure should be audited by an independent outside company. If the
district proceeds with a poorly planned and executed drug testing program,
I am available as an expert witness for the 5 percent-plus of all students
tested that will have a false positive test result.

Rodney Sams, Lancaster