News-Leader letter supports student drug testing

The Springfield News-Leader's editorial against student drug testing drew the wrath of a drug technician who wrote this morning to defend the practice, which has come into vogue in schools around the Ozarks and across the nation.

If one student turns down drugs for fear of failing a drug test, then it does work. The purpose of student drug testing isn't necessarily to catch students doing drugs. The purpose is to be a deterrent from doing drugs in the first place. It gives teens a solid reason to turn down the lure and pressure of drug use.

Going by the same logic, since illegal weapons are also a problem in our society, we should be able to conduct searches of all students at all times. If it saves one person's life, it would be worth it.

We should monitor all private telephone calls at all times. If we uncover one crime by doing so, then the elimination of civil liberties is worth it.

Bill Loomis, who wrote the letter, ends with this comment:

I offer my viewpoints based on personal experience. I am employed by the company who performed the drug tests on the Branson students and on the board members who approved it. I have given hundreds of drug tests to students.

Countless times a teen will tell me they don't do drugs because they have so much to lose. More teens tell me they think it's a good idea than those who complain about it. If they are the ones taking the tests and don''t mind, then why should the News-Leader mind?

If students are mindlessly going along with an invasion of civil liberties, that brings into question just how well they are being taught about what being an American is all about.