DRUGS, NOT KITS,DESTROY RELATIONSHIP

As a former Hutchinson resident, I am writing in response to the opinion
expressed in your paper that urinalysis kits issued by the district
attorney compromise the parent/child relationship.I have been on both sides
of the fence -- both as a parent and a former drug abuser. I can say that
my life always became a real mess during those times I was abusing drugs.

Everyone knows that spending quality time with your child and building a
trusting relationship is the most important thing a parent can do to
prevent drug abuse. My parents are loving and trusted me but, once I
started doing drugs, that didn't seem to matter. Once illegal drug use
starts, it's the drug use that compromises the parent/child relationship,
not intervention.

Drug abuse is very serious business. Parents who truly care about their
child will intervene with whatever means at their disposal to stop the
destruction that drug abuse causes. Whatever the perceived compromise to
the relationship caused by using the UA kits today, it will fade away
tomorrow when the grateful child grows up knowing that at least his or her
parents cared.

BRET MASON - Oakdale, Calif.