SSDP media director Tom Angell points to a hysterical exchange he initiated after reading a letter to the editor in the Metrowest Daily News, a local paper serving towns just outside of Boston.

Seems a man named Peter Cholakis wrote a letter to the editor calling on local cities and towns to ramp up random-student-drug testing -- "The Only proven deterrent to drugs..."

Really? Angell saw fit to do some sleuthing and craft a fantastic reply, which I re-print here in full:

Peter Cholakis claims that there is "no excuse" for schools to avoid enacting random drug testing regimens for all students (Letter: "End abuse with random drug tests;" Sat., 9/18).

But what Mr. Cholakis neglects to tell readers is the truth about drug
testing: it is demonstrably ineffective. In the largest study ever done on the subject, researchers working on a National Institute on Drug Abuse grant last year found that school drug testing is "not associated with [reducing] student marijuana use, or of other illicit drug use."

The most significant thing that Mr. Cholakis leaves out of his letter is that he has a personal monetary interest in expanding random drug testing for students. A simple Internet search reveals that he was recently appointed Vice President of Marketing for Avitar, Inc., an ambitious firm poised to take advantage of a booming drug testing industry with its new line of onsite oral drug testing products.

While he is right to admit the DARE program is a failure, Mr. Cholakis acts as if there is no possibility of ever formulating a more effective way to educate young people about drugs.

It's disappointing that some people are willing to give up so easily on our youth and think we can't teach them to be sensible through open and honest dialogue. But it's simply deplorable that someone would be willing to peddle that point of view to make a quick buck.

Oops. I guess he just forgot to mention this financial interest in random-student-drug testing. [Link courtesy of Angell.]

So what does Cholakis [Google him!] have to say in his own defense? Someone must have handed the man a spade, because he felt the need to dig himself a deeper hole:

With all do (sic) respect to Mr. Angell, Students for Sensible Drug Policy appears to be one of several "pro-drug" organizations which lobby to spread misinformation about the impact of drugs on society.

Random drug testing has, in fact, proven an effective deterrent to drug testing (sic?). As a professional with twenty five years of experience with market research, I can state the NIDA study that Mr (sic) Angell is referring to is not an appropriate benchmark to determine the effectiveness of drug testing.

Relative to my personal motivations in writing a letter on random drug testing... While I do work with an organization that promotes on-site testing, I am also a parent, and also have factual information on innovative, (sic) practices.

What is in fact "deployable" (sic) is lobbying organizations that attempt to spread disinformation about illicit drug use.

No one has "given up" on our youth. However, drug education and drug interdiction are both proven failures. Drug testing is the only solution that has proven effective to date.

Thus, in summary, I agree with the ability of all constituents to voice opinion (sic), regardless of the private interest that they may represent.

That being said, Students for Sensible Drug Policy, claims to be, in their own words (sic) " (sic) youth oriented organization that neither encourages nor condemns drug use. Rather, we seek to reduce the harms caused by drug abuse and drug policies." How can such a position be tolerate (sic) when children are dying from illicit drug use?

This is one of the most enjoyable dialogues I've read in a long time, insofar as it illustrates the sensible, fact-based approach of opponents of student drug testing while putting up in big neon lights the baseless nature of the opposing viewpoint.

Besides the utter disregard for facts (and editing), I particularly love Cholakis's claim that his 25 years in market research give him the authority to set and critique scientific benchmarks.

A huge thanks to Tom on behalf of all fans of common sense. Grate (sic) work! Read more on SSDP here.