Pubdate: Mon,  5 Nov 2001
Source: Amarillo Globe-News (TX)
Copyright: 2001 Amarillo Globe-News
Contact:  http://amarillonet.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/13
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/tulia.htm (Tulia, Texas)

TISD DRUG POLICY DEFIES TRUST OF 'SANE' PEOPLE

Given Tulia's overtly racial enforcement of drug laws, no sane person 
should ever trust the Tulia Independent School District when it comes to 
drug testing.

Tulia's passion for racial cleansing is firmly established in the aftermath 
of the blatantly racist drug-warrioring of a known perjurer (Tom Coleman), 
who sent more than 40 of Tulia's black citizens to prison on trumped-up 
drug dealing charges that stink to high heaven. The very idea that a 
dirt-poor town with only 5,000 people could support 40 drug dealers is 
ridiculous beyond compare.

The case of a Missouri truck driver who was wrongly charged with driving 
under the influence of marijuana, barbiturates and amphetamines should 
underscore the huge liability the Tulia Independent School District risks 
by going ahead with drug testing in the face of a court decision declaring 
it unconstitutional. The charges against the driver were a consequence of a 
false positive drug test that might have been caused by taking Alka-Seltzer 
Plus or some other legal product.

False positive drug tests are very common, and just one false positive 
could cost Swisher County hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages and 
court expenses. An appeals court already has ruled that a random 
drug-testing program for students involved in extracurricular activities 
violates the Fourth Amendment, so the TISD won't have a leg to stand on to 
defend against lawsuits.

Swisher County taxes already went up as a result of Tom Coleman's racist 
drug crusade. How much more hard-earned tax money is Tulia willing to waste 
for an illegal drug testing scheme?

Redford Givens

San Francisco
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom