DRUG TESTING BAD APPROACH

To The Packet:

In response to the recent article about mandatory drug testing at Hilton
Head Prep, drug testing remains terribly controversial and in the opinion
of many, constitutionally questionable.

Assuredly, all parents want to raise children in a safe and healthy
environment. But the focal point of such a policy is wrong. By
imposing such controls while eroding personal freedoms, in the words
of Abraham Lincoln, "you destroy the spirit and you have planted the
seeds of despotism at your own door."

We must be careful what we teach our children by mandating such
policies. True change comes from within. We cannot prevent our young
adults from making mistakes. We can only give them the tools of
decisional capacity. We must not underestimate the intelligence,
creativity, credibility and decision-making capabilities of our young
people or their families.

Debbie Moore,
Lynne Anderson,
Hilton Head Island