PISSING AWAY OUR RIGHTS

Thank you, Jed Gottlieb, for your "Pee to Play" article on the recent
Supreme Court ruling approving "urinate on demand" testing for high school
students. The broad application of suspicionless drug testing does not bode
well for a free society.

Of particular concern to NORML and organizations like it is that urine
testing can detect traces of marijuana for 30+ days after use, much longer
than cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, or alcohol-and obviously much longer
than any impairment is present. This means that you can binge regularly on
a dangerous cocktail of vodka, meth, and heroin, and not be too worried
about drug testing, but smoke the occasional weekend joint and you could
lose everything. Due to this fact, drug- testing programs may actually
promote the use of these more dangerous drugs.

Of course we don't want school kids high on any substance. But drug
testing, and particularly mass suspicionless drug testing, intrudes on
intimate bodily privacy and creates a confrontational atmosphere of mistrust.

John Masterson - Montana NORML

Missoula
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Ten Commandments Of Freedom

Jed Gottleib's article, "Pee To Play" ["High Court clears path for broader
drug testing," July 11-18, 2002] ignores the salient point that we are
currently engaged in a war against terrorism, a war to defend "American
Values."

The Bill of Rights are, for all intents and purposes, America's Ten
Commandments of Freedom-the bedrock of this nation's value system. At this
critical time in our history we should be encouraging our children to stand
up for their rights-not surrender them.

Walter F. Wouk

Director - Thomas Paine Project

Cobleskill