GET TO ROOT CAUSES OF DRUG ABUSE

Re: David Bloom's editorial on drug testing students:

I support your common sense response to the Barbers Hill school
board's student drug testing plan. Programs such as this are
invasive, not to mention ineffective. As your article so wisely
pointed out, the plan says nothing about the use of alcohol, which
causes more deaths and other problems among young people than all
other drugs combined. Why isn't anyone trying to get to the root
causes of underage drug (including alcohol) use?

Implementing a drug testing program is like trying to fix a severed
arm with a band-aid. Find out why kids are so set on altering reality.
Sometimes the reasons are benign. If they are not, then find a way to
address the underlying problem. Circumventing the Bill of Rights is
never a good solution.

TRISH TAYLOR
Austin