DRUG TESTING INVADES PRIVACY

THE U.S. Supreme Court's decision to allow random drug testing in public
schools is outrageous, counterproductive and an invasion of students' right
to privacy.

I am a recent graduate of a local high school. I am outraged that any
school would have the gall to waste money that could be spent on books,
computers and other school supplies to randomly test smart, well-behaved,
responsible students for drug use that occurs outside of school.

Many students in public schools use extracurricular activities as an
alternative to using drugs, some even as a means to cease substance abuse.
Drug tests such as these often test for concentrations of a substance that
go back months in the person's history. If one such student was kicked out
of a school program because of one of these tests, then he or she would be
returned to the temptations of abuse.

The ruling shows an incredible lack of intelligence and connection to
society on the part of the justices.

Jeff Gelb

San Jose
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AS an incoming senior at Scotts Valley High School, I am distressed by the
U.S. Supreme Court's decision concerning school districts and the right to
drug test middle- and high-school students involved in extracurricular
activities.

In 1995, the court had ruled in favor of drug-testing student athletes.
While that alone is unreasonable, expanding the scope to include
participants in such activities as choir, speech and debate, and numerous
other on-campus clubs or organizations is outrageous.

While it is understandable that a school district would be concerned with
the potential impact of drugs on campus, sweeping and invasive testing does
not act as a deterrent. As one dissenting Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said,
"[Drug testing] invades the privacy of students who need deterrence least
and risks steering students at greatest risk for substance abuse away from
extracurricular involvement that potentially may palliate drug problems."

A positive drug test does not indicate whether a student was impaired or
intoxicated at the time of the test, nor does it show the frequency or
quantities of drugs or alcohol used by the student. Therefore, tests do not
provide any information relevant to helping students with substance abuse
problems, and may produce even more harm by incriminating the completely
innocent though false positives. Drug tests cannot test for every illicit
drug or previous alcohol use, so students who consume less harmful yet
easily testable marijuana may turn to substances with a more considerable
impact yet which are not detected in standard urinalysis.

Clearly, we are not too far away from the of universal drug testing of all
students. Shame on the five justices who ruled in favor of testing.

Stefan J. Reich, 17

Santa Cruz