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Weekly News in Audio

February 9, 2006


Chris Goldstein
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  Physicians Ill Informed On Drug Testing, Study Says
  Congress Scales Back Ban On Student Aid For Drug Offenders
  Virginia, Raising Pot Penalties Will Disproportionately Impact Young Adults, Study Says


Boston, MA:
Physicians Ill Informed On Drug Testing, Study Says

Pediatricians who order drug screens for their patients often possess only limited knowledge of how to administer the test and interpret its results, according to survey data published this month in the journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

Three hundred fifty-nine physicians participated in the survey, which was conducted by researchers at Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital Boston. Among the respondents, 95 percent said that they had ordered urine drug screening for their patients. However, fewer than 25 percent of them reported that they administered the tests in accordance with federal guidelines, and only 26 percent said that they performed confirmatory testing to weed out erroneous ("false positive") results. Additionally, few physicians were able to accurately respond to survey questions regarding marijuana detection and passive exposure to cannabis smoke, and less than one percent of respondents correctly identified the range of substances that could cause "false positive" test results.

"Overall, our findings suggest that primary care physicians are not fully aware of the limitations of drug testing and do not use recommended procedures for collecting and validating urine drug test specimens," authors concluded. "The primary care workforce is not prepared to provide guidance to schools, parents, or patients with questions regarding drug testing."

A previous study published last year in the journal Pediatrics found that home drug testing kits sold online fail to provide adequate information regarding how to use the products properly, and downplay the possibility of inaccurate results.

The Harvard study appears the same week that Bush administration officials unveiled their 2006 anti-drug strategy, which calls for the increased use of random student drug testing in schools. The White House had previously called for a 150 percent increase in federal funding for student drug testing in 2005, and issued grants to 350 schools nationwide to pay for implementing drug testing programs.

This spring, for the third consecutive year, the White House is sponsoring a series of regional summits to encourage middle and high-school officials to enact random, student drug testing in public schools.


Washington, DC:
Congress Scales Back Ban On Student Aid For Drug Offenders

Congress approved budget legislation last week that includes provisions lifting the ban on federal aid to students who have a prior, non-violent drug conviction. The Congressional ban, known as the "drug offender exclusionary provision" of the Higher Education Act, has denied federal financial aid to some 175,000 students since its enactment in 1998.

Under the Congressional amendment, students with past drug convictions will now be eligible to apply for federal financial aid. However, students who are convicted of a nonviolent drug offense, including minor marijuana possession, while in college will continue to be stripped of their federal aid eligibility.

"This partial reform by Congress is long overdue and is a step in the right direction," said NORML board member Chris Mulligan, campaign director for the Coalition for Higher Education Act Reform (CHEAR). "Nonviolent, minor marijuana offenders should not be singled out and restricted from receiving college loans over a joint."

Mulligan noted that a new report released by CHEAR this week found that 35 states also deny educational funding because of drug convictions.


Washington, DC:
Virginia, Raising Pot Penalties Will Disproportionately Impact Young Adults, Study Says

Raising state criminal penalties for possessing marijuana will have a disproportionate impact on Virginians under age 30, and would divert law enforcement resources from other priorities, according to a study released this week by Virginia NORML and the NORML Foundation.

The report, entitled "An Argument Against Increasing the Maximum Penalty for Marijuana Possession in Virginia," was produced in response to proposed legislation, House Bill 737, that sought to raise marijuana possession penalties to one year in jail and a $2,500 fine. The House Courts of Justice, Subcommittee on Criminal Law rejected the measure yesterday, after having received copies of the report.

"Research consistently reports that severe penalties do not effectively deter marijuana use," states the study, which notes that cannabis use, on average, is lower in Virginia than in states with more stringent penalties. The report further notes that over half of those arrested for marijuana possession in Virginia are under age 30, and one third are under the age of 25.

"Longer sentences for marijuana possession will send more young men to jail for longer periods of time, and this also means that these young men will spend longer periods of time in the company of more serious offenders," the study says.

"In conclusion, increasing the maximum penalty for marijuana possession in Virginia is unnecessary, too expensive, and counterproductive."