Monday, March 5, 2007

Doctors say drug-testing kids a bad idea That's right. In the March issue of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Pediatrics said: ... screening for illicit drugs is a complicated process prone to errors and cheating, and has not been shown to curtail youngsters' drug use. Drug testing also creates a counterproductive climate of "resentment, distrust and suspicion" between children and their parents or school administrators... They went on to list a number of other potential problems and recommended: ...parents suspicious that a child is abusing drugs or alcohol consult the child's primary care doctor rather than rely on school-based drug screening or home kits to check their concerns. These are things we've known for some time, but John Walters doesn't care about you or your children. He doesn't care about trust -- why should he? His entire life is a lie. He just wants kids to pee for him. He want a "golden" parachute, so he can soak up the profits from some drug testing company in his retirement. Take your stinking kidney juice money back, John. Give it back to the people, or to the states so they can provide after-school activities for youth. Let's have some positive efforts that help children rather then turning them all into criminals. You can also vote in MSNBC's unscientific web poll: Current results: Do you support drug testing for children? (* 9977 responses) Yes. It's the best way to curb illegal drug use. 31% No. It's inaccurate and creates an atmosphere of distrust. 63% Not sure 6.5% [Thanks, Mary] 10:42:04 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Marsha Rosenbaum on NPR Marsha Rosenbaum, of Safety 1st, will be a guest on Richard Miller's National Public Radio show, "Mind, Body, Health," on Tuesday, March 6, 9:00 a.m. PST to talk about teens and drugs. You can listen to the show live on the web or tune in at 88.1, 90.7, and 91.5 FM in the Mendocino County area. 10:14:54 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

The President's Spring Break from Hell I really can't imagine that President Bush is looking forward to his upcoming trip down south. Like many Americans at this time of year, President Bush is striking out for southern climes. Packing strategies for fostering trade, fighting drug traffickers and fending off the regionwide shift to the political left, Bush flies out Thursday on a swing through the friendlier parts of Latin America. Even sticking to the "friendlier parts" can't be much fun for him. His drug war is losing popularity by the day, and the war in Iraq has pretty much stripped him of the ability to offer either bribes or threats in Latin America. He's a lame duck, unsure of his strength in countering the influence of the President of Venezuela! Here's an interesting thing to discuss.... Could it be that this administration's love affair with the drug war could end up being a liability to... the drug war? It seems that the rest of the world is starting (in bits and pieces) to identify the excesses of the drug war with the foreign policy failures of the Bush administration. And they're starting to see that the advantages of defying U.S. drug policy might outweigh any potential repercussions. 1:01:15 AM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []