DRUG TESTS DON'T DISCOURAGE ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION

Regarding Richard RoBards' thoughtful May 13th column:

Perhaps Nelson County teachers are reluctant to agree to random drug
tests because they don't want to take part in a divisive culture war
that should have ended with the Vietnam War. Organic marijuana is the
only drug that stays in the human body long enough to make urinalysis
a deterrent. Synthetic drugs like crystal methamphetamine and
prescription narcotics exit the body quickly.

This is no secret. Anyone capable of running a search on the Internet
can find out how to thwart a drug test. Random drug testing
encourages hard drug use. This is one of the reasons the American
Academy of Pediatrics opposes student drug testing. The last thing
our pill-popping society needs is more incentives to use prescription
pharmaceuticals.

As student drug testing has gone up, so have prescription drug
overdose deaths. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control,
the number of unintentional prescription drug overdose deaths in the
U.S. increased from 12,186 in 1999 to 20,950 in 2004. Among all age
groups, the largest increase in deaths occurred among persons aged 15-24 years.

The most popular drug and the one most closely associated with
violent behavior is almost impossible to detect with urinalysis. That
drug is alcohol, and it takes more lives each year than all illegal
drugs combined. Hangovers don't contribute to teacher productivity
and workplace drug tests do absolutely nothing to discourage the No.
1 drug problem.

Robert Sharpe, MPA

Policy Analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, D.C.