Drug testing meets opposition
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By Lynda Arakawa and Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Staff Writers
Local drug treatment specialists yesterday opposed a proposal to begin drug testing in public schools, saying such a policy would erode student-adult trust with no clear evidence that it would deter students from using drugs and no guarantee of treatment for those who test positive.
State lawmakers gathered for a House-Senate Task Force on Ice and Drug Abatement to hear more about drug testing and other issues, especially those related to crystal methamphetamine, also known as ice.
Meanwhile, Gov. Linda Lingle yesterday said she wants to focus more drug-abuse prevention efforts in Hawai'i's middle schools.
"The lieutenant governor and I have strong feelings about this, that that's where you want to put a lot of the prevention funding," Lingle said. "We think that's the time where kids can go one way or they can go the other, so we think that that kind of positive intervention at that stage is good."
Elaine Wilson, chief of the Health Department's Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division, has said the biggest jump in student drug use is between the sixth and eighth grades.
Earlier this year, Lingle said she supported voluntary drug testing for students, as long as students who test positive receive help rather than punishment. Lingle said all of the recommendations from the Waikiki drug summit were positive because they indicate an understanding of the need for prevention, treatment and law enforcement to fight drug abuse in the state.
Yesterday, she said she planned to meet with Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona to discuss recommendations that came out of last week's three-day Hawai'i Drug Control Strategy Summit in Waikiki. Aiona spearheaded the summit, which drew about 400 people from various backgrounds.
The Kalihi YMCA provides substance-abuse treatment services across O'ahu at most public high schools. At yesterday's legislative hearing, officials said the treatment programs have shown some positive results: half of those who complete the program each year remain drug-free six months after treatment ends, 80 percent are in school or job training and nearly 90 percent have not been arrested.
Tony Pfaltzgraff, co-executive director of the Kalihi YMCA, said on-campus programs work to establish trust with the students. To require drug tests "would really create an atmosphere of suspicion," he said.
University of Hawai'i law professor Jon Van Dyke said it's not clear whether drug testing would be allowed under Hawai'i law.
Van Dyke, a constitutional law specialist, said a review of relevant cases nationally and locally shows that testing has been rejected in some states and accepted in others, under varying circumstances.
Pam Lichty, a drug-treatment advocate with the Drug Policy Forum, said that using drug tests to exclude students from sports and extracurricular activities would tend to identify them as drug users even while the system would aim to protect their confidentiality. And banning them from positive activities — which tend to help keep them away from drugs — would seem counterproductive.
Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8070. Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2429.
