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US: Drug Czar Blasts Medicinal Marijuana
Heather Ishimaru ABC Local
Thursday 23 Mar 2006 Mar. 23 - KGO - The Bush administration's point man on drug policy wants random drug testing in your child's school. John Walters was in the Bay Area Thursday to drum up support for his idea, but in a state that legalized medical marijuana, that may be hard to come by. Roughly 600 of the nation's 15,000 school districts now have random drug testing programs in place. The Bush administration has spent $8 million dollars to help pay for them, and the White House hopes to nearly double that amount next year. White house drug czar John Walters believes random drug testing of students will stop drug abuse before it starts. He says substance abuse should be thought of as a disease, but instead of being spread by germs, it's spread by peer pressure. John Walters, White House drug czar: "It's an enormous, first and foremost, prevention tool. It gives young people reinforcement to say 'no I can't, I'm being tested.'" Some parents and school officials argue it doesn't work and it's an invasion of privacy. Walters counters that most of the opposition to random testing is based on misunderstandings. John Walters, White House drug czar: "Random testing cannot be used to punish, cannot be referred to law enforcement, must be done confidentially with the inclusion of parents and must be done only to help the child." Jennifer Kern is with the Drug Policy Alliance, a non-profit group that is critical of White House drug policy. She says parents have little say in the testing process and students who test positive are often punished. Jennifer Kern, Drug Policy Alliance: "The only national study done was conducted, supported by federal funds and showed no difference in student use in schools that did and did not have these programs." California's Proposition 215 legalized medicinal marijuana. Walters says it hurts children when it leads to production of pot-laced products that appeal to kids, like what was found in a large bust last week in the East Bay. John Walters, White House drug czar: "Nobody says I need medicinal meth, medicinal crack, medical Jack Daniels. The fact of the matter is, and we have to have compassion for the sick and dying, but Prop. 215 is being used to suggest marijuana is good for you." Dennis Peron, Prop. 215 author: "Marijuana is good for you. And I will not just suggest it, I know it. When my lover was dying of AIDS, wasting away, marijuana gave him an appetite." Dennis Peron authored Prop. 215. Dennis Peron: "It is not medical meth, not medical crack, it's medical marijuana we're talking about." The Drug Policy Alliance says punishing kids who test positive by banning them from after-school activities is not only ineffective but counterproductive. Keeping kids engaged in those extracurricular programs, they say, is proven to keep kids off drugs. But last year, the drug czar's office handed out over $700,000 dollars to California schools launching drug testing programs. None of those schools are in northern California.
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