DRUG TESTING WRONG

Regarding "Drug Testing In Schools Should Be Sensibly Restricted" (Our
Opinion, March 22):

According to the numbers stated by the drug-testing industry, anyone
failing a pre-employment drug screening would more likely than not be a
marijuana user. Not only because marijuana seems to be the most widely used
illicit drug, but also because it remains in the system longer than other
tested substances. While the feelings from smoking one marijuana cigarette
last only four to six hours, the tetrahydrocannabinol remains in the body
for about three weeks. Detection time for cocaine, opiates, amphetamines
and methamphetamines with a standard urine test is no longer than four days.

Workplace drug testing is a discriminatory process, encouraged by workers'
compensation discounts for employers and a billion-dollar drug testing
industry. Those of us who will not pee in a cup must accept the limitations
our principles place on our marketability in the American work force. It
would be morally wrong to place these same limitations on the aspirations
of youth or the ability of anyone to achieve an education.

Debra Baker,
St. Petersburg