Pubdate: Thu, 19 Feb 2004 Source: Auburn Plainsman, The (AL Edu) Copyright: 2004 The Auburn Plainsman Contact: http://www.theplainsman.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1880 Author: Scott Russ Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n252/a11.html SAY 'KNOW' Editor, The Auburn Plainsman: Now it's no child's urine left behind. Why don't we just allow the government to brand us with bar codes and insert computer chips under our skin so it can monitor everything we ingest? Is a urinalysis the new Pledge of Allegiance? America is no longer the land of the free. Drug testing and the whole drug war is a disgrace to everything our country was founded upon. Current and past presidents have used some of the very substances that these companies will be testing for, so what message are we really sending our kids? Our senators and representatives have conveniently exempted themselves from drug testing, while drug czar John Walters tours the country pressuring school boards to implement drug testing for our children. The hypocrisy of this is so thick it stinks. We allow "cool" beer commercials and every sort of prescription drug commercial on TV and radio, yet we somehow expect our children won't be tempted to use drugs of one sort or another. This is a joke. America had better wake up soon and let their representatives know we've had enough. Judge our children by the content of their character, not the composition of their urine. Drug testing will push our children away from us and cause them to use substances that will not be detectible in these tests. Most hard drugs are not detectible after 24 to 48 hours, so would you rather your child experiment with crystal meth or marijuana? Zero tolerance makes zero sense and is causing the loss of life every day in this country. Just say 'know!' Scott Russ Baton Rouge, La. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin