cannabisnews.com: British Drug Test Program Stirs Debate





British Drug Test Program Stirs Debate
Posted by CN Staff on August 02, 2006 at 10:50:19 PT
By Sarah Ball, Associated Press
Source: Associated Press
Faversham, England - A British school has launched a pilot program where students as young as 11 are subjected to random drug tests - a project that has generated interest in Washington and fed a civil liberties debate on both sides of the Atlantic.The Abbey School in this southeastern market town is testing students by mouth swab for traces of heroin, cocaine and marijuana. Parents must give permission for the testing, and even then students can refuse.
Former headmaster Peter Walker, who started the program, gave up his school job to become Britain's official ambassador for drug testing. He recently went to Washington to give a presentation to John Walters, director of the White House drug policy office.Since the program began in January 2005, only one out of nearly 600 students has tested positive for marijuana - a record Walker attributes to students steering clear of drugs because of the tests."I've got nothing to hide," says Daniel Kelly, 14, who was plucked out of class to have his mouth swabbed and saliva tested for drugs. He doesn't mind the testing, saying that since it applies to most students: "It's not as if I'm the only one."Critics say the tests violate students' privacy and could open the door to lawsuits. As the program expands, some say children will find their rights to object to the tests eroded.Rights activists say drug testing in schools is another infringement on privacy in Britain, where closed-circuit television cameras are ubiquitous and lawmakers are debating identity cards that would store biometric data such as fingerprints or iris scans.Liberty, one of Britain's largest civil rights groups, says testing could wrongly turn students into suspects if they refuse. The American Civil Liberties Union says the tests are imprecise and violate students' basic rights."Students have to reveal medical information that would explain why certain test results might come up - the school is then in possession of private medical information," said Graham Boyd, an ACLU lawyer. "You could have teachers leaving it in a folder, open on a desk - and it could include information about mental health or birth control prescriptions. That's nobody's business, and especially for someone who is an adolescent."After planning for years, Walker persuaded a newspaper to fund the pilot project. Jenny James, the current Abbey headmaster, promises to continue the program.This month, head teachers at just under 100 schools in the county of Kent will consider whether to implement drug testing. After that, the data will be evaluated by the national Department for Education and Skills and Kent's municipal government. Supporters say they will push to expand the program nationally if results show it has been a success.Walker said 86 percent of the 960 children's parents have agreed to allow their children to be tested. Between 1 percent and 2 percent of parents refused; the others failed to turn in the forms.Walker said four students initially refused to be tested; in three of those cases, the youths said they were unwilling because they had been at parties where marijuana had been smoked, but that they themselves hadn't smoked it."I told them it would be wise to be tested ... When they got their results, they were quite happy to see that they did not test positive," he said.Students who refuse testing or test positive must take a counseling session; there is no disciplinary action. Students face punishment if they are caught dealing drugs, are found with drugs or are under the influence of drugs at school.The White House drug czar says similar tests aren't far off in the United States. "This (drug testing) is a public health measure," Walters told The Associated Press.Drug testing and the legal issues it raises have been hotly debated in the United States. Pennsylvania's Supreme Court, for example, has said the state constitution provided some limits on drug screening that targets student athletes, among others.Others, like a high school outside of Abilene, Texas, are taking a tougher stance, implementing programs to test students who drive to school and park on school property. Students who take part in extracurricular activities are also subject to testing.In Kent, where the Abbey School is located, schools will be able to decide over the next term whether they want similar programs. Prime Minister Tony Blair has said he supports drug testing and has endorsed Walker's efforts to expand it.Source: Associated Press (Wire)Author: Sarah Ball, Associated PressPublished: Wednesday, August 2, 2006Copyright: 2006 Associated Press ACLUhttp://www.aclu.org/CannabisNews Drug Testing Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/drug_testing.shtml
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Comment #17 posted by FoM on August 08, 2006 at 07:00:17 PT
Related Article: Lesson in Drug Testing
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060808/OPINION02/608080315/-1/OPINION
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Comment #16 posted by Toker00 on August 04, 2006 at 03:05:30 PT
Celaya
You're welcome. My heart has really been aching for my country lately. You know, America, the Beautiful. Liberty, Justice, Freedom. It tears my heart out knowing these things are now only for those who can afford them, or for those in a particular party. We must do all we can to rid our nation of the criminal element within, consciously destroying what our brave family members died to preserve for ALL of us. Please be brave in the coming days. Don't be stupid, but please, please, BE BRAVE.Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW!
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Comment #15 posted by ekim on August 03, 2006 at 20:10:02 PT
"First they came for the Communists
We pay $7.50 per engagement set up by the person--this will increase in the
next 6 months...I will personally train people on how this is done...very
easy work and can be done at any time of the day...late at night, early
morning, doesn't matter...emails can be sent at any time of the day to orgs
across the US and Canada...
MikeMike Smithson
Speakers Bureau Coordinator
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
131 Flint Path, Syracuse, New York 13219-3403
speakers leap.cc  http://www.leap.cc
Cell: 315-243-5844  Fax: 315-488-3630"First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist, so I said
nothing. Then they came for the Social Democrats, but I was not a Social
Democrat, so I did nothing. Then came the trade unionists, but I was not a
trade unionist. And then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew, so I
did little. Then when they came for me, there was no one left to stand up
for me." German Protestant Pastor Martin Niemöller 1892-1984
http://www.leap.cc/events
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #14 posted by Celaya on August 03, 2006 at 16:36:52 PT
Toker00
Great Pledge! I've printed it out and hung it up!Thanks!
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Comment #13 posted by kaptinemo on August 03, 2006 at 15:30:22 PT:
What IS it with Western countries?
We won the Cold War, fighting Red facsism (Communism) after having to fight Black (Nazi and Italian) fascism. We have all the marbles. The future was supposed to be so bright, we'd need shades. Now we are putting handcuffs on our own wrists and demanding our children get used to them too.Perhaps this has a much darker purpose: to cull the goats from the sheep. "I have nothing to hide!" was a phrase often heard under those previously mentioned fascisms; often it was the last public utterance before someone was packed off to each fascist nation's respective version of Gulag...or heard just before the sound of rifles in a firing squad. Evidently the irony involved in that statement is lost upon modern schoolchildren. But the purpose is clear: to cow, to geld the spirit, to trample any shred of resistance through public ostracism of those who will not conform to de facto tyranny. They jackboot on the neck usually has tooled into the leather such sweet bromides as "It's for your own good!" but it's hobnails still bite deep.The West fought bloody wars to prevent that from happening...now we are doing it to ourselves. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #12 posted by Toker00 on August 03, 2006 at 14:39:22 PT
The Pledge of Resistance.
I pledge a resistance to the coupOf the Divided States of America.A fallen Republic on which it stands,Fascist nation, under Bush,With Tyranny and Terror for All.Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #11 posted by lombar on August 03, 2006 at 09:07:12 PT
afterburner
..when they passed the orwellian c-28(guess) that allows the state to spy on the peoples electricity usage, looking for grow shows, here in BC, I had a similar thought. Meth labs do not require huge amounts of electricity. Every 'crackdown' on pot is a an advertisment for the hard stuff.I know a guy that had a $30/hr job where they did drug testing. He just got diagnosed with cirrosis(sp?) of the tliver, told to quit drinking or get ready for death... in order to keep his job he drank instead of smoking herb. So the prohibitionists can sit back and smugly say 'hes getting what he deserves' for seeking to escape the reality that would be a lot more pleasant were it not for their constant hatred of people who seek to alter their consciousness.So, the smart crooks have either found ways of fooling the meters, bypassing them altogether, or just packed it all in and bought some chemistry equipment. The drug war succeeds again in making the drug problems worse.Lombars 'cons' sheetLegalized Drugs-social fallout from addiciton -health care costsProhibited Drugs-social fallout from addiciton-health care costs-uninformed police -corrupt politicians-thugs, gangsters-petty crime, violent crime-court costs, police costs, prison costs-underming authority with elephant in the living room (cannabis less dangerous than all the other drugs)-lost lives by harm maximisation, prison-children and property seized-no lack of drugs for kids...
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Comment #10 posted by afterburner on August 03, 2006 at 08:10:16 PT
mayan #9
A vicious circleBy continually demonizing cannabis, the prohibitionists indirectly encourage the use of injection drugs. Then, they turn around and blame the increase in injection drug abuse on cannabis. The prescription drug abuse epidemic and the increase in injection drug abuse are the result of failed prohibitionist policies, laws and rhetoric. People seeking to avoid detection from "drug" tests and people who no longer believe anything the federal government tells them about drugs make foolish choices.
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Comment #9 posted by mayan on August 03, 2006 at 05:49:53 PT
Misc.
IU study: Injection drug use up - Alcohol, marijuana use continue declines: 
http://www.idsnews.com/news/story.php?id=36788&adid=campusPot clubs in residential areas may get one more year:
http://www.examiner.com/a-203467~Pot_clubs_in_residential_areas_may_get_one_more_year.htmlHeads up...Webster Tarpley on Air America - Tonight! (8/3):
http://www.911blogger.com/2006/08/tarpley-to-be-on-malloy-832006.htmlAir America Radio:
http://airamerica.com
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #8 posted by Wayne on August 03, 2006 at 05:20:07 PT
OT: Interesting NORML article
US Web: San Diego V. Prop 215http://www.mapinc.org/norml/v06/n1010/a01.htm
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #7 posted by Celaya on August 02, 2006 at 22:15:57 PT
JOIN NUTOPIA
Join NutopiaDetails at the Grudge Report http://www.theusversusjohnlennon.com./ And here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060802/film_nm/lennon_dc
NUTOPIA
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #6 posted by Wayne on August 02, 2006 at 18:44:43 PT
meanwhile back in America...
"Parents must give permission for the testing, and even then students can refuse."Wow, that's nice. You can bet your ass that once Walters gets his hands on this program, we won't have that choice. It will be 'Get a swab, or get expelled.'I can just picture these children growing up and marching on Washington, saying "We've f***ing had ENOUGH!" What prompted this, anyhow? If we were winning the Drug War as the former czars claim, and kids are using less drugs, why is this necessary? Just to be absolutely sure they exterminate every last one of those little potheads??
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Comment #5 posted by mayan on August 02, 2006 at 18:38:24 PT
oops
Sorry about that double paste!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #4 posted by WolfgangWylde on August 02, 2006 at 18:33:29 PT
Uh huh.
"Former headmaster Peter Walker, who started the program, gave up his school job to become Britain's official ambassador for drug testing."Sure thing. Dollars to doughnuts (...mmmmm, doughnuts...) says this jag-off now works for a drug testing company.
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Comment #3 posted by mayan on August 02, 2006 at 18:27:38 PT
Incrementalism
"I've got nothing to hide," says Daniel Kelly, 14, who was plucked out of class to have his mouth swabbed and saliva tested for drugs.And nothing to lose but your liberty, your privacy and your dignity. Such a good little conformist!As the program expands, some say children will find their rights to object to the tests eroded.You can bet your ass these tests will soon be mandatory and will eventually expand to the work force. Incrementalism. The students who refuse already have to undergo counseling!How about swabbing Tony Blairs mouth for traces of bullsh*t!"I've got nothing to hide," says Daniel Kelly, 14, who was plucked out of class to have his mouth swabbed and saliva tested for drugs.And nothing to lose but your liberty, your privacy, and your dignity. Such a good little conformist!As the program expands, some say children will find their rights to object to the tests eroded.You can bet your ass these tests will soon be mandatory and will eventually expand to the work force. Incrementalism. Students who refuse already have to undergo counseling!How about swabbing Tony Blairs mouth for traces of bullsh*t!In unrelated news, the fascists are obviously getting very nervous...White House Proposal Would Expand Authority of Military Courts:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/01/AR2006080101334.htmlTHE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN...Slipknot Vocalist Corey Taylor Questions 9/11 (scroll down)::
http://www.911blogger.com/2006/08/slipknot-vocalist-corey-taylor.htmlThe 9/11 Research companion to the film World Trade Center:
http://www.911research.wtc7.net/reviews/world_trade_center/index.html9/11: a 7-Man Job (updated): 
http://georgewashington.blogspot.com/2006/04/911-7-man-job.htmlThird of Americans suspect 9-11 government conspiracy:
http://www.scrippsnews.com/911poll9/11: Press For Truth:
http://www.911pressfortruth.com/
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Comment #2 posted by global_warming on August 02, 2006 at 12:42:55 PT
from some readings
Anonymous said...  State Socialism (philip walling)? No! Spot on with the rest of your analysis, but the BlairBrownMandelCampbell is attempting to create a Hong-Kong or Singapore style capitalist dictatorship. New China is the model rather than old soviets. We will all drink Coca Cola and shop at Tesco or there will be trouble. Despite the name, this is another neo-con government. The aim is total removal of democracy because that has annoying issues like the raising of questions about corrupt profiteering. The WTO are in charge. The NHS will be sold off (Tory policy as well) and the Army will be used to quell trouble. (As in Thatcher's day). I see no reason for this blog to exist since all you true blues support these policies, why on earth does the end of parliamentary scrutiny concern you? Must be some sort of fauvist back-channeling, an eerie attempt to recapture some charming nostalgic picture of Disraeli and Gladstone fueding in the Commons over mighty imperial policies. Who needs that when American business reigns supreme?? We should all just get into line. The Daily Telegraph will be compulsory. Each packet of Nachos will represent one vote. Politics will be an illegal word. A nuclear power station in every village! Hurrah for the Tory-Blair-Bush-EU-China syndicalism!and the answer isphilip walling said...  Why don't you, anonymous, reveal yourself?
  You're confused about conservatism, I'm afraid. I'm not afraid to say I'm a High Tory. I am not a conservative, although we get lumped together. I deplore rampant mercantilism (or capitalism as socialists call it) and 'globalisation'- whatever that means. The result it seems to me is to channel away to the benefit of other people all human effort and the value derived from the natural increase of things growing in the soil on which we live. That's what I mean when I say we are becoming slaves. We no longer get the benefit of our labour or the natural increase from our soil.
  It's the moral, rather than the financial consequences that are so corrosive to us individually and to our communities generally. And this is happening to every country in the world it's no different for those who think they benefit from it - there are just different pernicious effects for them.  I agree that I may be wrong in describing what is happening as state socialism and I accept that it was started under a conservative government. But until some party, I don't care what it calls itself, says it will try to do something about this I don't feel I can vote for anybody because none of them has the people's interests at heart.Hey, this is Hump Day, we are going over another finacial financial high, is there an antidote? For the disease of financial high, surely every high and indecent pleasure can be taxed and moralized, consider the possibility, that every inch of your profit margin is connected to the fate of your eternal soul.
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Comment #1 posted by Global_Warming on August 02, 2006 at 12:10:20 PT
Life is a Test
"Former headmaster Peter Walker, who started the program, gave up his school job to become Britain's official ambassador for drug testing. He recently went to Washington to give a presentation to John Walters, director of the White House drug policy office."I can be sure that Peter Walker has struck fear into his young students, for they must all be scratching their heads and wondering how such man has has made it through life's challenges, and they must also be snickering, behind his back of course, what an huge giant ass he is, hey Peter you can swab this...pity the old fools of England.In the meantime as far as the eye can see these fools are so willing to give away their hard earned freedom, for what, for some swab test that can prove that your soul is guilty for the highest crimes against what? God? Country? What is the crime that can place your God given flesh into prison, some simple inebriation, some simple pleasure, if there is a God, may it be our simple place to receive grace and understanding.
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