STUDENT INVOLVEMENT REDUCES DRUG USE

The Barber's Hill School District would be wise to educate itself on the
limitations of drug testing before imposing the invasive policy on
students. Student involvement in extracurricular activities, like sports,
has been shown to reduce drug use.

Forcing students to undergo degrading drug tests as a prerequisite will
only discourage extracurricular activity. It may also 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 weeks. Synthetic drugs like
meth and OxyContin are water-soluble and exit the human body within a few
days.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.

Why is this relevant? Because the growing use of Ecstasy is in part a
result of drug testing. A student who takes Ecstasy on Friday night will
likely test clean on Monday morning. Ironically, the least dangerous
recreational drug (marijuana) is the only one whose use is discouraged by
testing. Drug testing profiteers do not readily volunteer this information,
for obvious reasons.

Finally, I would like to point out that the most commonly abused drug and
the one most often associated with violent behavior is almost impossible to
detect with urinalysis. That drug is alcohol, and it takes far more student
lives every year than all other drugs combined. Alcohol may be legal, but
it's still the number one drug problem. Instead of wasting money on
counterproductive drug tests, the Barbers Hill school board should invest
in reality-based drug education.

Robert Sharpe, M.P.A.

Program Officer

Drug Policy Alliance

Washington, D.C.