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Drug Tests for Teen Licenses
February 14, 2005

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News Summary

Teenagers who want to drive would have to pass a drug test to get their license under a bill introduced in the Illinois legislature, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Feb. 13.

State Rep. Roger Eddy (R-Hutsonville) said the measure, HB 159, which calls for testing all license applicants under age 18, could prevent teens from using methamphetamine and other illicit drugs.

"There's a real methamphetamine problem in rural Illinois ... at that age when they're getting their learner's permits," said Eddy. "This (could provide) a reason to give to counter the pressure -- 'No, I want to be able to get my permit.'"

The Chicago Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has not taken a formal position on the bill, but a spokesperson said the measure is troubling because it singles out a specific age group and suggests that they have fewer legal protections than others.

Applicants would be responsible for the $10-40 cost of the drug tests.

Some students and school administrators agree with Eddy, himself a school superintendent, that the measure would make kids think twice before using drugs.

"Everyone looks forward to getting their license, it's such a big deal. When you get your permit, that means new freedom, so maybe doing that would be an incentive to be more responsible," said Amanda Clessa, a freshman at Metro East Lutheran High School in Edwardsville, Ill.

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