DRUG TESTING WRONG

Editor:

It's rather unusual for me to come to the defense of police officers
when it comes to drug-war policy issues, but what's wrong is wrong.

And forcing otherwise respectable police officers to urinate into a
cup as a demonstration of their integrity is misguided policy. If you
want to know whether officers are using illegal drugs, why not just
ask them? If their honesty is that in question, then how can you have
them reliably perform other important aspects of their job, such as
testifying in courtrooms? Police, as well as people in any other
employment sector, should be judged on the basis of their job
performance and the content of their character, not on the content of
their urine.

If the listed drugs are actually so debilitating to reliable job
performance, shouldn't it be apparent to all who is using, without a
drug-test? A sad fact is that the two most commonly abused drugs by
police as well as the public at large - alcohol and tobacco - will not
be included in the new tests. That's certainly a mixed message to be
sending to the public and to kids.

STEPHEN HEATH

Public Relations Director

Drug Policy Forum of Florida
Clearwater, FL