TESTS LINKED TO RISE IN HARD-DRUG USE

By agreeing to random drug tests, the Hawaii State Teachers
Association is an unwitting conspirator in a 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
to 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 number
one drug problem.

Robert Sharpe

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, D.C.