The ONDCP is coming to Newark this Tuesday, February 27, for the second stop on its 2007 tour to convince parents and educators that random student drug testing is the "silver bullet" to combat adolescent drug use.

It's your turn to get the word out that random student drug testing is costly, intrusive and potentially harmful to students!

Come to our Meet-up Monday Evening

WHEN: 7:00PM, Mon., February 26, 2007
WHERE: Drug Policy Alliance Headquarters, 70 West 36th Street, 16th Floor, New York, NY  10018
RSVP: Please sign up so I can leave your name with the security guard. Please also note that you will need photo ID for entrance into the building.
WHY: To discuss the game-plan for the summit, key issue points and possible responses to difficult questions.

You can sign up and get more details in our action center. If you can't attend the meeting, you can still get in touch with me before the summit.

Attend the Summit on Tuesday

WHEN: 8:30 AM, Tues., February 27, 2007
WHERE: Hilton Newark Airport, 1170 Spring Street, Newark, NJ. Get directions.
WHY: So you can counter the ONDCP's deceptive presentations by asking sharp questions and distributing literature.

Prepare for the Summit

• Please make sure you register for the event on the ONDCP summit website. If you have registered, but have not received a confirmation e-mail, please try again. Print out your confirmation e-mail and bring it to the event. Once you've signed up, please let us know as well!
  
  
• Before the summit, familiarize yourself with the issue. Begin by reading our booklet, Making Sense of Student Drug Testing: Why Educators Are Saying No. Our issue-specific web site, Drug Testing Fails, also provides a wealth of information. Beyond Zero Tolerance presents a reality-based approach to drug education and student assistance programs. Also check out our online toolkit, which features questions to ask at the summit and other ideas for getting involved.
  
  
• Please arrive in business casual attire to be most effective in communicating with educators.
  
  
• Find us the morning of the summit near our information table so we can provide you with educational materials to distribute. (In the past, event coordinators have provided a table inside the main room marked "Non-ONDCP Approved Materials.")
  
  
• In everything we communicate at the summits, we want to stay closely focused on student drug testing.  Attempting to broaden the discussion may hurt our message and close local educators off to our concerns.

The ONDCP's goal is to present itself as the single authority on student drug testing. Don't let the ONDCP hit educators and run! Your participation will make an important difference.  If you can't attend the summit, please check out our online toolkit for ideas about other ways you can get involved.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Jennifer Kern
Drug Testing Fails Campaign Coordinator
Drug Policy Alliance

Learn More About Student Drug Testing

Drug testing is humiliating, costly and ineffective, but it's an easy anti-drug sound bite for the White House. Student testing breaks the trust between children and adults and drives students away from extracurricular activities. What's more, studies even show that student drug testing doesn't work to deter drug use. Read the story of how one student's life was turned upside down by drug testing and how drug testing created a devastating false sense of security for another family.
Visit our website and read a copy of our booklet Making Sense of Student Drug Testing: Why Educators Are Saying No.