N.J. SCHOOL DISTRICT HALTING USE OF KIT TO DETECT DRUGS

NEPTUNE -(AP)- Four New Jersey school districts have been conducting drug
residue tests at some of their schools for several months, but one has
discontinued the practice because it found the testing kits to be
unreliable.

The Toms River Regional and Southern Regional districts in Ocean County
began testing in January without notifying the public. The tests also were
implemented in the East Windsor Regional and Mercer County Vocational
districts, and also are used in other states.

The testing is part of a federally funded pilot program that examines the
effectiveness of the kits - long used by law enforcement agencies - within a
school setting. At a cost of less than $1 each, the kit almost
instantaneously detects trace amounts of marijuana, heroin, cocaine and
methamphetamine on a variety of surfaces.

A piece of paper is rubbed on a surface and is then sprayed with an aerosol
reagent that turns it a different color if drug residue is present. The
testing was done on several common surfaces, such as locker doors and
bathroom stalls.

While the test results have not been made public, an official for the
company that produces the kits said drug residue was found in all
participating schools.

"We're not using it for students or student discipline," John Gluck,
assistant superintendent for high school safety and security in the Toms
River district, told the Asbury Park Press of Neptune for Monday's editions.
"We're trying to find out ... where likely areas for drug trafficking are or
where people might have stored drug paraphernalia."

The district plans to continue the testing this school year under a more
regimented schedule, but Southern Regional has decided to drop the program.

Craig Henry, principal of the district's high school, said the agents used
to clean the surfaces before the tests would sometimes react with the
sprays, causing false positives.

"We saw no practical application because of its lack of reliability at the
stage that we last saw the product," he said. "There was no point in
pursuing it."

The Washington D.C.-based Mistral Group, which manufactures the kits, said
the kits have been modified since the problem was discovered.