As a credentialed substance abuse professional working for the North Shore/LIJ Health System, a psychotherapist, and a concerned resident of the Sea Cliff/Glen Cove area, I have been following the recent debate over the proposed drug testing program for drivers ed. students between the school board and parents of Glen Cove High School with great concern and interest. The magnitude and danger of the drug problem facing our children is frightening and the best time to attempt intervention and education is as early as possible. How do we best do this, how do we ensure that our audience is receptive? I have spoken to high school students at their schools during drug awareness days; the only thing that I have seen in their eyes is disinterest and a desire to be someplace else. Our children get caught up in prevailing fads, when you mix this with their disbelief concerning their own mortality, it can lead to a lethal recipe. If we want our children to understand then we must speak their language, if we want them to respond then we must appeal to what is important to them. Two of the most important things for a teenager are: 1) to move and expend competitive energy, i.e. sports and, 2) to be independent and venture out into the world via automobile. Connect these interests to drug awareness and prevention and you create an incentive which will, in turn, spark an internal motivation in our kids. Herein lies the brilliance of this proposed plan which should be provided for in the school budget; if it helps just a handful of our kids it will circumvent hours of suffering and the spending of thousands upon thousands of dollars on treatment.

Hair testing is far less invasive and more accurate than urine testing. In the event that a student tests positive it gives the parents, the school, and the student the opportunity to join forces against a formidable foe.

What difference does it make who provides the drug testing service, and why would a program that is designed to save our children's lives invite law suits? I attended a recent school board meeting whose main purpose was to discuss the mechanics of the proposed drug testing program. I had the distinct feeling that the parents came to fight and that the school board came armored and armed to counter attack. The tragic truth of the matter is that the only victims of this useless war of words are our children.

Steven Lansky, MA, CASAC