Schools Seem Headed In Opposite Direction

In his June 12 column, Brent Biles highlights a fundamental flaw in school
drug testing.

Simply put, drug testing might compel users of relatively harmless
marijuana to switch to harder drugs to avoid testing positive.

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, cocaine or meth on Friday night likely will 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 importance of parental involvement in reducing drug use cannot be
overstated.

School-based extracurricular activities also have been shown to reduce drug
use. They keep kids busy during the hours they're most prone to getting
into trouble.

Forcing students to undergo degrading drug tests as a prerequisite will
only discourage such activities.

The most commonly abused drug and the one most associated with violence is
almost impossible to detect with urinalysis. That drug is alcohol, and it
takes far more 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

Program Officer

Drug Policy Alliance

Washington, D.C.