SCHOOL DRUG TESTING IS COUNTERPRODUCTIVE

The Maui News Jan. 17 editorial on Senate President Bobby Bunda's misguided
efforts to turn schools into prisons was right on target. Last year the
U.S. Supreme Court issued a controversial ruling that paved the way for
school drug testing of kids who enroll in extracurricular activities. This
latest drug war exemption to the Constitution may do more harm than good.

After-school activities 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 activities.

Drug testing may also compel users of relatively harmless marijuana to
switch to harder drugs to avoid testing positive. Marijuana is the only
drug that stays in the human body long enough to make urinalysis a
deterrent. Synthetic drugs are water-soluble and exit the body quickly. A
student who takes "ice," Ecstasy, LSD or heroin on Friday night will likely
test clean on Monday morning. If you think students don't know this, think
again. Anyone capable of running a search on the Internet can find out how
to thwart a drug test.

The most commonly abused drug and the one most closely associated with
violent behavior - alcohol - is almost impossible to detect with
urinalysis. That drug takes far more student lives every year than all
illegal drugs combined. Instead of wasting money on counterproductive drug
tests, schools should invest in reality-based drug education.

Robert Sharpe

Drug Policy Alliance

Washington, D.C.