Pubdate: Wed, 11 May 2005
Source: Pitt News, The (U of Pittsburgh, PA Edu)
Copyright: 2005 The Pitt News
Contact:  http://www.pittnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3789
Author: Adam Fleming
Cited: Students for Sensible Drug Policy: www.DAREgeneration.com
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?219 (Students for Sensible Drug Policy)

DRUG OFFICIAL SUPPORTS RANDOM TESTING

A high-ranking administrator spoke in support of random drug testing
and against marijuana at a stop outside of Pittsburgh Thursday.

Last year the number of drug violation arrests in Pennsylvania climbed
to 775 -- the highest rate since 2001 -- while the Drug Enforcement
Administration seized more than a ton of marijuana in the state.

At the same time, the federal government approved $10 million in
grants for student drug testing programs in schools, which will be
awarded Sept. 29. The programs -- which are not federally mandated --
were declared legal by the U.S. Supreme Court for all middle and high
school students who participate in competitive extracurricular activities.

In the face of protest and many questions, a high-ranking official
from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy hit the
road earlier this spring to bolster support for drug testing in grades
six through 12.

Deputy Director Mary Ann Solberg spoke to a group of educators and
administrators Thursday in a hotel outside of Pittsburgh.

"Denial is something that we experience in all our communities," she
said. "Random student drug testing ends that denial."

Solberg also recited anecdotes from her own experience. She told of a
girl who was coaxed into trying marijuana by the most attractive guy
in school and ended up mainlining heroin a few years later.

"Anything we can do to prevent drug use gives the child the
opportunity to never become addicted," Solberg said.

Despite Solberg's visit, it is unlikely that schools in Pittsburgh
will soon adopt random drug testing as a preventative measure.

"The board would never agree to that because they feel it's a
violation of the students' rights," Janet Yuhasz, the coordinator of
student wellness for Pittsburgh public schools, said in a telephone
interview. "We don't do any drug testing at all."

Pittsburgh schools rely on a student assistance program that focuses
on staff awareness training, curriculum-based programs and
collaboration with county agencies, Yuhasz said.

"It's a very fair program. It's a reasonable program. It's of no cost
to the families," she said. "We all work together on the behalf of the
students. Drug testing alone is not the answer."

On that point, Solberg agreed.

"It is one tool in a toolbox of strategies," she said in her
speech.

Dave Farley, the project director for Operation Weed and Seed in
Pittsburgh -- a joint effort between law enforcement and community
members to fight violent crime and drug activity -- said random drug
testing wouldn't serve as a cure-all, but could keep drug users away
from schools.

"Drug use, like everything else in our society, does not have a single
cause," Farley said, "and it's not going to have a single solution."

Farley also said that, based on his experience, drug use has not
necessarily grown in Pittsburgh during the last 10 years, but that it
may be spreading to new demographics. He added that there is probably
a trend in younger children using drugs.

Following Solberg's speech, Brian Blake, a spokesman for the ONDCP,
and Tom Angell, a representative of an organization that works against
random drug testing in schools, clashed in the hotel's lobby.

"You run around telling people that it drives kids out and it's not
the case," Blake said in defense of drug testing.

Their debate quickly transformed the war on drugs into a war of
words.

Blake accused Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Angell's group, of
misrepresenting the results of drug testing and went on to say that
SSDP supports the legalization of marijuana.

Angell, the younger of the two, denied both Blake's charges and
countered by saying that the federal government -- while not demanding
that schools test students for drug use -- effectively mandated SSDP
by giving $10 million in grants to them.

"We're promoting this as a policy we think that works," Blake
said.

Rob Steffes, a taxpayer from Aliquippa with no children, agreed with
Angell.

"They say it's not a Big Brother thing," he said. "I want the kids to
learn they're in a democratic society."

Steffes said he was not affiliated with SSDP, but studied the issue
attentively.

"It doesn't work," Steffes added. "People like me are going to fight
it tooth and nail." 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake