Pubdate: Thu, 19 Jan 2006
Source: AlterNet (US Web)
Copyright: 2006 Independent Media Institute
Contact:  http://www.alternet.org/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1451
Author: Marsha Rosenbaum
Note: Marsha Rosenbaum directs the Safety First ( 
http://www.safety1st.org/ ) drug education program at the Drug Policy 
Alliance in San Francisco. She is the author of "Safety First: A 
Reality-Based Approach to Teens, Drugs and Drug Education" (2004).
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States)

DRUG TESTING GETS FAILING GRADE

The Office of National Drug Control Policy descends upon Orlando, 
Fla., on Thursday to host the first of four "summits" around the 
country promoting random student drug testing. While Orange County 
has resisted what Drug Czar John Walters calls a "silver bullet," 
enthusiastic conference presenters will no doubt sound as though they 
have all the answers for preventing teen drug use, and backed with a 
federal budget upwards of $9 million, the push in on.

As the mother of four, a National Institute on Drug Abuse scholar and 
director of a drug abuse prevention program advocating science-based 
drug education for teens, I urge Florida's educators and parents to 
be wary of "feel good" promises and proceed with extreme caution when 
it comes to student drug testing, as it may be doing more harm than 
good. Consider the very real pitfalls:

* Random drug testing has not been proven to deter drug use. In 2003, 
the National Institute on Drug Abuse funded the largest study ever 
conducted on the topic. Researchers compared 76,000 students in 
schools with and without drug testing and found no differences in 
illegal drug use among students from both sets of schools. In a 2005 
report that critiqued studies touted by ONDCP in support of random 
student drug testing, professor Neil McKeganey found fundamental 
flaws and biases, saying, "It is a matter of concern that student 
drug testing has been widely developed within the USA ... on the 
basis of the slimmest available research evidence."

* Random drug testing alienates students. The collection of a 
specimen is a humiliating violation of privacy that already 
self-conscious adolescents should not have to endure.

* Drug testing can have the unanticipated effect of keeping students 
from participating in after-school, extracurricular programs -- 
activities that would fill their time during the peak teenage 
drug-use hours of 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

* Random testing infuses an insidious sense of suspicion into the 
delicate student-teacher relationship, which can create a hostile 
school environment. This is especially disturbing in light of 
research showing that student connectedness to their school is an 
important predictor of success.

* Drug testing is expensive and inefficient. School districts across 
the country, including many in Florida, are in financial crisis and 
simply cannot afford to shell out thousands of dollars each year 
while extracurricular programs struggle to survive. Gateway High, for 
example, in Osceola County, initially implemented a drug-testing 
program but dropped it a year later due to budgetary concerns.

* Testing is not the best way to detect problems with alcohol and 
other drugs. Though it may provide a false sense of security among 
school officials and parents, who believe it tells which students 
abuse drugs, in fact testing detects only a tiny fraction of users 
and misses too many who are in trouble. If we are truly intent on 
helping students, we should listen to drug-abuse professionals who 
know that detection of problems requires careful attention to signs 
such as truancy, erratic behavior and falling grades.

Some argue that students need drug testing to help them say "no," but 
research questions this assumption. The 2005 "State of Our Nation's 
Youth" survey found that, contrary to popular belief, most teens are 
not pressured to use drugs. Besides, if teens don't learn how to 
respond to the presence and pressure of the drug culture when they 
are in high school, when will they learn?

Random drug testing may seem a panacea, but it is fraught with 
social, emotional and financial problems. Before we leap into a 
program that uses students as guinea pigs, we should examine the many 
repercussions, pitfalls and alternatives to random drug testing.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake