Drug Testing As A Condition Of Attending School

UPDATE: The story has now hit the wire services, so I sent my letter, below, to many more newspapers. You can access the AP version of the story at the SF Chronicle, which unlike cheapskate newspapers, makes their archives available for free.

TLC
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More face drug tests for school

Nearly every middle and high school student in the El Dorado school district will be tested for drug and alcohol use this year.

Any student in seventh grade or higher who wants to participate in extracurricular activities must agree to undergo a mandatory drug test. That includes students who play in the band, join the math club, attend a homecoming dance, take drivers education in the summer, participate in a spelling bee or park in the school parking lot.

It isn't unusual for districts to test athletes, and many districts will test students who are suspected of being under the influence of drugs.

El Dorado's new policy is different in that the district expanded what is considered an extracurricular activity.


Full Article, Wichita Eagle, September 3, 2006

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My letter to the editor of the Wichita Eagle, El Dorado Times, and Salina Journal, with the Subject, "Stopping The *REAL* Drug Problem":


Dear Editor:

If the El Dorado School District were serious about stopping genuine drug abuse, it would put an immediate halt to any use by its students of Ritalin, Concerta, Effexor, and other toxins that students are forced to take lest the pharmaceutical drug cartel's "social worker" puppets place them in "foster care" where they face an unlimited imposition of mind-altering drugs.

Sincerely,

Terry L. Clark