Pubdate: Tue, 09 Apr 2002 Source: Baltimore Sun (MD) Copyright: 2002 The Baltimore Sun, a Times Mirror Newspaper. Contact: http://www.sunspot.net/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/37 Author: Robert Sharpe Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n620/a03.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing) DRUG TESTING DOESN'T MAKE CHILDREN SAFER The Sun's editorial "A high C and a drug test" (March 31) was right on target. The U.S. Supreme Court will review the constitutionality of an Oklahoma school district's drug testing policy, but there are compelling health reasons to oppose the invasive policy. Student involvement in extracurricular activities has been shown to reduce drug use. Forcing students to undergo degrading drug tests as a prerequisite will only discourage such activities. Drug testing may also compel smokers of relatively harmless marijuana to switch to harder drugs to avoid testing positive. Marijuana is the only drug that stays in the body long enough to make urinalysis a deterrent. Synthetic drugs are water-soluble and exit the body quickly. A student who takes ecstasy or heroin on Friday night will likely test clean on Monday morning. 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. And the most abused drug is almost impossible to detect with urinalysis. That drug is alcohol, and it takes far more lives every year than all illegal drugs combined. Instead of wasting money on counter-productive drug tests, schools should invest in reality-based drug education. Robert Sharpe Washington The writer is a program officer for the Drug Policy Alliance. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom