Drug testing in schools

Pubdate: Sun, 18 Feb 2007
Source: Today's Sunbeam (NJ)Copyright: 2007 Today's Sunbeam
Contact: bgallow@sjnewsco.comWebsite: http://www.nj.com/sunbeam/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4423

DISTRICTS WEIGH DRUG TESTING
It's no mystery high school students experiment with drugs andalcohol. But Salem County School Boards Association President JohnSmith says high schools can take a more active stance to deterstudents from experimenting by instituting random drug and alcoholtests for students involved in extra curricular activities.
Smith hosted a program attended by representatives from each schooldistrict, detailing a new drug and alcohol testing policy that wouldrandomly select students involved in extra curricular activities fortesting.
The computer generated program would randomly pick 10 to 20 percent ofstudents involved in extra curricular activities a year for a urineanalysis test. If a foreign substance is found in the completed test,the sample would be sent to a lab for further testing to find theillegal substance.
"It's an educational tool. We are the surrogate parents in the worldof education," he said. "We have to be responsible for the growth ofour students while they're in our educational system."
The tests, he said, would be mainly for educational purposes and wouldserve as a tool to alert parents of their children's activities.
"This program would not be a punishment program. We're not violatingany student's rights," he said. "There could be counseling and mentorprograms established if we find we have a problem in the schooldistrict's. We need to stress the importance of being drug free to ourstudents. It's a way to ensure that we nip this problem in the budbefore it becomes an issue."
Currently, school districts in Salem County only have one drug testfor their students mandated by the State of New Jersey. If a schoolathletic team reaches the state championship in any sport, the teammust submit to a urine analysis to test for steroid abuse.
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Why test school kids for drugs?

It seems to be another case of "If we're scared about the kids, we have to do SOMETHING, even if it's the wrong thing."

Random testing of school kids involved in extracurricular activities is wrong in so many ways that it's hard to count them.

First, it's not needed. Most school testing programs turn up less than 1% positive results. That level would suggest much less of a problem that the school boards claim ( and incidently belies the justification that the Supreme Court relied on when upholding a similar program: that the high level of student drug use justified extreme measures that might not otherwise survive Constitutional muster).

Second, it's expensive. The typical test costs about $40; at a one percent positive rate, that's $4,000 for each incident of drug use dedected.

Third, it tests the wrong kids and the wrong drugs. Kids on teams, in bands and clubs, and making the grades necessary to do so are not the kids in danger of drug abuse or dependency.

Since the tests don't cover alcohol or tobacco -- the real problem drugs-- and since stimulants and opioids will clear out of the body within less than 48 hours (less than the time from a Friday night party until a Monday drug test), the tests are really marijuana tests. And there they can detect use up until a month previously, not just recent use.

Fourth, the justification is specious. Testers claim tests give to students an excuse to avoid peer pressure and "just say no", but that's not the way peers interact. Saying "I'm afraid of the test" would probably cause a kid more problems than just refuisng thedrugs.

Fifth, they don't work. Study after study shows the same level of drug use in both testing and non-testing schools.

Most importantly, the tests "send the wrong message", to use the Drug Warriors' favorite phrase. They tell the kids that they belong to the state, that its OK for the government to invade their privacy and bodies, and that Constitutional protections don't mean a damn' thing.

That's not a message I want to send!