Pubdate: Fri, 20 May 2005
Source: Patriot Ledger, The  (MA)
Copyright: 2005 The Patriot Ledger
Contact:  http://ledger.southofboston.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1619
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

Our View

TESTING TEENS FOR DRUGS

Give Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey credit for starting a needed discussion on 
teenage substance abuse.

Healey unveiled a Romney administration proposal this week to expand the 
testing of students for drugs that is currently allowed at proms and 
after-school events at Massachusetts high schools.

The administration proposes allowing schools to conduct drug tests during 
the regular school day - providing that the parents of the student have 
given permission for the test.

The idea isn't meant to be punitive - results of the drug tests would be 
reported to parents and school officials, but not police.

The idea is to catch students who are potentially harming themselves and 
need help before it's too late. The plan is included in a $9.1 million 
omnibus anti-drug package that also calls for two €'€'sobriety high 
schools" in Boston and Springfield, where students recovering from drug 
addiction could continue their rehab while finishing their education.

Minnesota is among the states that report sobriety high schools can have a 
huge success rate in helping students. Civil libertarians - and teenagers - 
are likely to raise invasion of privacy concerns to expanded drug testing.

Those concerns may be valid, but they must be weighed against the epidemic 
of substance abuse.

Drug and alcohol abuse is a painfully frequent problem facing teenagers - 
the Bay State's teen substance abuse rate is among the highest in the 
country, according to Healey, and teens admitted for substance abuse 
treatment experimented with drugs at an average age of 13. The 
administration's 93-page plan focuses on identifying, treating and 
preventing drug use in schools, an effort public health officials say is 
long overdue. The state spends more than $250 million a year on substance 
abuse treatment programs, with prevention accounting for just 11 percent of 
those funds. Healey endorses a far more comprehensive prevention and 
treatment program. Anyone who reads the newspapers or talks with high 
school students knows the toll that drugs and alcohol are taking on young 
minds and lives.

Testing students for drugs in school may sound extreme to some, but it is a 
debate worth having.
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MAP posted-by: Elizabeth Wehrman