Propaganda Tour to Spread Random Student Drug Testing

Drug Czar in Pittsburgh on Thursday!

I've talked a lot about the creation of a YOUTH Technology Summit. A different type of summit is slated for this week, one I don't favor in terms of policy push.

Drug Czar John Walters is traveling around the country on a taxpayer-funded drug war tour to promote student drug testing as the "silver bullet" to adolescent drug use. He comes to Pittsburgh on Thursday.

Fellow Pennsylvania parents, take a moment and make mentions educators, coaches, other parents and our kids about Walters' quick fix solution. Their plans are ineffective and with dangerous unintended consequences, like taking drugs. To violate the rights of parents and the physical and moral integrity of young people isn't what America is about. We can't simply violate the Pennsylvania Constitution -- even for drug abuse reasons.

Since the 2003 Supreme Court case, which upheld Pennsylvanians' heightened constitutional right to privacy, many school districts in Pennsylvania have abandoned their programs, however some districts continue to test.

Join with us and others (such as the Drug Policy Alliance) to speak against this
insidious policy at the Pittsburgh summit.

In Walters' first two summits held in Dallas and St. Louis, Alliance members made their voices heard with thoughtful questions that pressured the ONDCP to acknowledge the harms of student drug testing. Their inquiries highlighted the flaws and inconsistencies in the messages of the presenters for other attendees.

An online toolkit contains action ideas and it has a meet-up tool to connect you to other reformers to strategize before attending the summit.

An organizer, jkern@drugpolicy.org, asks for copies of the summit's handouts, photos and other insights, if you attend.

The event is from 9 am to 5 pm on Thursday, May 5, 2005, at Crowne Plaza Pittsburgh, 1160 Thorn Run Road.

Drug TESTING is humiliating, costly and ineffective, but it's an easy anti-drug soundbite for the White House. Student testing breaks the trust between children and
adults, and drives students away from extracurricular activities. What's more, studies even show that student drug testing doesn't work to deter drug use.

Even corporations are getting into the act, sadly. PPG is one such employeer that gets a thumbs down from me for their drug testing policy.