EXPENSIVE 'WIN'

To The Editor:

"Maybe Tecumseh Was Right" (editorial, Jan. 4), on the Oregon drug testing
study, erred in claiming the study proves the effectiveness of drug tests.
While it's true illicit drug use went down, alcohol use actually increased
among drug-tested athletes. According to the study, students know alcohol
is difficult, if not impossible, to detect.

If drug tests are evaluated in terms of health outcomes (as opposed to
cultural norms), the Oregon research suggests they do more harm than good.
Not only is alcohol the drug most closely associated with violent behavior,
but alcohol overdoses kill more students each year than all illegal drugs
combined. Alcohol may be legal, but it's still the No. 1 drug problem.

Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death,
nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. Because marijuana's
organic metabolites are fat soluble, pot is the only drug that stays in the
human body long enough to make urinalysis an effective deterrent. Drug
tests may compel marijuana smokers to switch to alcohol or harder synthetic
drugs to avoid detection.

Granted, that might be considered a drug war "victory" to culture warriors,
but it's a questionable use of tax dollars.

Robert Sharpe

Washington, D.C.

Sharpe is with the Drug Policy Alliance, an anti-drug war lobbying group.