DRUG TESTING SCHOOLCHILDREN

Re "School tests to reject," editorial, Nov. 21: Drug testing our kids to
exclude them from extracurricular activities is one of the worst ideas in
years. Private drug testing companies preying on fears, seeking to divert
millions of dollars from our classrooms to their boardrooms, is utterly
despicable. Consider this scenario: This summer, a teenager gets her first
job, makes new friends and starts smoking marijuana socially. By the end of
summer she is smoking pot three or four times a week. School rolls around
and she wants to try out for the school play, or sports or 4-H.

Should she be at school learning new skills in a safe and structured
environment, or hanging out after school, perhaps seeking mind-expanding
challenges of a more dangerous sort? Easy answer: She should be somewhere
safe. We should want that for all our kids.

For more information on how to fight back against the drug test marketers,
visit www.drugtestingfails.com.

- - Glenn Backes, Sacramento Director, Health Policy, Drug Policy Alliance