DRUG TESTING A WASTE OF MONEY

Forcing students to undergo degrading urine tests as a prerequisite will
only discourage participation.

Student involvement in extracurricular activities has been shown to reduce
drug use. They keep kids busy during the hours they are most likely to get
into trouble. Forcing students to undergo degrading urine tests as a
prerequisite will only discourage participation.

Drug testing may also compel users of relatively harmless marijuana to
switch to harder drugs. Despite a short-lived high, marijuana is the only
drug that stays in the human body long enough to make urinalysis a
deterrent. Marijuana's organic metabolites are fat-soluble and can linger
for days.

Synthetic drugs are water-soluble and exit the body quickly. A student who
takes ecstasy, meth, LSD or heroin on Friday night will likely test clean
on Monday morning. If you think students don't know this, think again.
Anyone capable of running a search on the Internet can find out how to
thwart a drug test.

The most commonly abused drug and the one most closely associated with
violent behavior is almost impossible to detect with urinalysis. That drug
is alcohol, and it takes far more student lives every year than all illegal
drugs combined. Instead of wasting money on counterproductive drug tests,
schools should invest in reality-based drug education.

Robert Sharpe

Drug Policy Alliance