STEPS TO ASSURE DRUG TESTS ARE ACCURATE

While drug testing for students is vital to their survival in the peer-pressured world of teenagers, situations such as those that happened at Wurtland Middle School can be avoided by:

* Sending all specimens to a federally certified lab for screening and confirmation. 

* Having knowledgeable, competently trained individuals perform the rapid

test under the guidelines of a policy written to protect privacy. 

I have seen too many individuals embarrassed because they were accused of taking amphetamines ( over-the-counter diet supplements ) or PCP ( cold medication containing effexor ). 

This should be used as a learning mechanism that requires the situation to

be analyzed and appropriate changes implemented. 

Leo Barbisan, Director of Special Services, Kroll Laboratory Specialists,

Gretna, La.