cannabisnews.com: Random Drug Test Ban OK'd





Random Drug Test Ban OK'd
Posted by CN Staff on June 24, 2004 at 10:11:57 PT
By Eric Stern, Bee Capitol Bureau
Source: Modesto Bee
Sacramento -- Bret Harte Union High School in Angels Camp probably will stop testing student-athletes for drugs if a legislative effort to ban random checks becomes law, Superintendent Joseph Wilimek said Wednesday.Senate Bill 1386 would allow a test only if there is "reasonable suspicion" that a student is using drugs. The measure advanced out of the Assembly Education Committee on Wednesday and is close to reaching Gov. Schwarzenegger's desk. The measure needs final approval from the full Assembly; the Senate already passed it.
Wilimek, whose Calaveras County high school is the only one in the Northern San Joaquin Valley and foothills with a random drug-testing program, said the bill would open up too many legal and public relations challenges if a student is wrongly singled out for a drug test.Random tests are more fair, he said."I'm not sure that we have the ability to say this kid is on (drugs) and this kid isn't," he said. "We're going to get accused of all kinds of other things."But Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg, D-Los Angeles, who co-wrote the bill, said it's easy to spot drug use."You come into class, your eyes are red, you're falling asleep, you're slurring your speech, you can't stand up when the bell rings, and yesterday you weren't like that," said Goldberg, a former high school teacher."Reasonable suspicion" is defined in the bill as "rational inferences" not based on "curiosity, rumor or hunch."Under the bill, schools also could not target students for drug tests because of race, gender, sexual orientation, or suspicion of drug use among friends or family members.Random drug testing, while not widespread in California schools, is a practice that has been upheld by U.S. Supreme Court decisions. Sen. John Vasconcellos, D-Santa Clara, who co-wrote the bill, said state guidelines need to be in place to protect students' privacy and integrity. Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/random.htmSource: Modesto Bee, The (CA)Author: Eric Stern, Bee Capitol BureauPublished: Thursday, June 24, 2004Copyright: 2004 The Modesto BeeContact: letters modbee.comWebsite: http://www.modbee.com/CannabisNews Drug Testing Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/drug_testing.shtml
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Comment #3 posted by OverwhelmSam on June 24, 2004 at 20:33:40 PT
Great Bill.
Personally, I see something wrong with piss test and cavity searches for 14 year olds. And don't say that they're not considering cavity searches, you already know that they will ultimately pass a cavity search bill for 11 year old girls.Not only should we get all the states to pass a similiar bill, but get all the states to pass bills to counteract all the bills the federal government passes in relation to marijuana prohibition.
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Comment #2 posted by Dave in Florida on June 24, 2004 at 15:46:37 PT
Andrea Barthwell
", deputy director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, said the "reasonable suspicion" standard doesn't work because drug users learn how to hide their behavior.Random testing exposes it, and the risk of getting caught is enough for students to stand up to "intense pressure" from other students, she said."[sarcasm mode on]
Gee, I thought you said drugs make people lazy and stupid, and now your're saying they learn how to mask their drug use? Imagine that..
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Comment #1 posted by Richard Paul Zuckerm on June 24, 2004 at 10:56:26 PT:
SOUNDS LIKE AN EXCELLENT BILL!
Within the past couple of years, the The New Jersey Supreme Court handed down a decision on random drug testing. The majority opinion upholds drug testing of public school students without probable cause, quite disappointing and disrespectful of the State Constitutional Right against unreasonable searches and seizures.The California legislature seems to respectful of the California State Constitutional Right to privacy, a right against unreasonable searches and seizures.Here is one good thing Governor Arnold should pass!My concerns about Governor Arnold are that:
[1] He is a Republican, which, when considering the history of Republicans, means elitism;
[2] His Father was a Nazi, even though Arnold claims he loathed his Father's past;
[3] I have not seen Governor Arnold's position on medical Cannabis and Hemp. Sort of like John Kerry.What has Jack Herer been up to?
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