Pubdate: Wed, 30 Jan 2002
Source: Daily Independent, The (KY)
Copyright: 2002 The Daily Independent, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.dailyindependent.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1573
Author: Myron Von Hollingsworth
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n154/a10.html

DRUG TESTING OF KIDS IS UP TO THE PARENTS

Regarding the proposed drug testing for the Lawrence County students 
Daily Independent, Jan. 23), drug testing of children should be 
between the child and the parent - with their own money - without 
intrusion by the schools or the state. Stop asking the government to 
raise other people's children with my tax dollars.

Making people urinate on demand beginning when they are very young 
desensitizes them to the governments' war on people's privacy, 
personal liberties and dignity in the name of ``the drug problem" 
which, in reality, is a prohibition problem.

Regarding drug testing of teachers: From the very first ``drug test" 
to the present, the very nature of the methods used for ``screening" 
reduce these ``tests" to nothing more than ``lifestyle testing." 
Furthermore, only certain lifestyles result in a ``failure" of these 
tests. It's not about public safety or employee safety, and it is not 
about identifying true real-time impairment of employees. It's about 
fear, control and oppression.

Moreover, the most popular methods of testing (urine, sweat, blood 
and hair) do not measure true, ``real time" impairment. They only 
measure non-psychoactive metabolites that can be present days or 
weeks after the effects of substances have subsided.

What we have is a flawed system whereby a majority of impaired people 
aren't detected until after they have hurt or killed someone else or 
themselves while, at the same time, many unimpaired individuals 
involved in accidents may be fired/prosecuted because they ``tested" 
positive for something that took place days or weeks ago on their own 
time.

Myron Von Hollingsworth,
Fort Worth, Texas
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MAP posted-by: Josh