DRUG TEST MAKERS BENEFIT FROM TESTING

The News Leader shows little respect for the Bill of Rights when you say
that suspicionless drug testing is "fair" and should be expanded to all
students. The News Leader says the purpose of drug tests "is not to punish,
but to prevent," but ignores the negative effects effects of a positive
test, which could mean removing the kid from school.

Besides turning a blind eye to the destructive aspects of student drug
tests The News Leader fails to mention the huge body of scientific evidence
refuting the value of drug testing for any purpose. No questions are
directed at the sheer hypocrisy of testing dozens of innocent people for
every "positive" found.

Drug testing is an enormous scam created by Republicans like Robert L
DuPont (former White House drug czar), Carlton Turner (former drug czar)
and Peter Bensinger (former head of NIDA.) After promoting urine testing
and making drug tests a mandatory part of many federal contracts during
their years in government office, these self-interested charlatans formed
one of the largest urine testing companies in the United States (Bensinger,
DuPont & Associates -- "Specializing in problems of addiction in the
workplace") and contracting as advisors to 250 of the largest US
corporations to corner the market they had created. This conflict of
interest should always be remembered when mandatory drug testing is mentioned.

A recent study from the Le Moyne College Institute of Industrial Relations
demolishes unscientific claims for improved productivity and safety for
employees subjected to drug tests because companies that use random or
pre-employment drug testing had 20 percent lower productivity than those
who do not test and drug testing actually increases safety problems.

Because drug testing provides no measurable improvements in profits,
productivity or safety over 50 percent of small businesses abandon drug
testing within two years.

The sellers of drug tests are the only ones who benefit from drug testing
policies. Everyone else loses. Especially when the Bill of Rights is
diminished for fraudulent schemes like drug testing.

If The News Leader's editors are so enthused about suspicionless drug
testing, no doubt they are willing to forego their own Fourth Amendment
rights to privacy in the interest of promoting a long-failed drug crusade.

REDFORD GIVENS

San Francisco