JUST SAY NO TO DRUG TESTING IN SCHOOLS

I am increasingly concerned with the loss of freedom that U.S. citizens
seem happy to comply with -- in particular, the freedoms that are being
eroded through current U.S. drug policy and the supposed laws associated
with that policy. The latest victims are our children.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently decided it was constitutional to require
mandatory drug testing for students engaged in extracurricular activities.
I maintain that this is unreasonable search and seizure.

As a licensed clinical counselor and psychologist, I can state with
certainty that it is extracurricular activities that actually help keep
students away from illicit drugs; students involved in these activities are
less likely to be involved in illicit drug use. Mandatory drug testing is
not going to reinforce trustworthy behavior in our children. More than
anything, it sends the message that they cannot be trusted and their bodies
are not their own.

Nothing says ``I trust you'' like coercing someone to give you a vial of
their bodily fluids. Are children now the eggs we must break to make our
police-state omelet?

This is also another instance of government intrusion into our family
lives. Politicians can't even regulate the corporations that support their
campaign excesses. Does anyone really believe they are the best judges of
how we should raise our children and monitor their behavior?

Of course, upholding such fascist policies as mandatory drug testing
creates yet another market that politicians and school systems can spend
taxpayer dollars on: the drug testing industry. I am sure executives
running those labs are quite happy with the Supreme Court decision.

It is my hope that all freedom-loving parents and citizens will fight
mandatory drug testing in their school systems with all legal means necessary

Elliott Ingersoll

Kent