Drug testing in schools?!?!

[Blind_Prophet]

I was just reading something about they have been doing drug testing in schools in some places, I don't think its right for them to do that unless they do it for people that are doing after school sports, it could cause a health risk or accident but i don't think they should be able to have the right to test anyone they wanted, unless they caught the kid with drugs on school grounds or he used them on school grounds. But if they do it out of school thats there buisness not saying that they will ever get the power to do so, but if they do i think its to much power and a slight envasion of privacy. I just wanna know what some of you think about this if they could get the power to test anyone and how you feel about them testing kids that try out for sports. (by the way i don't know if this was a topic before)

[True_Moose]

It's been going on for years. The stupidest thing is that they only test kids involved in extra-curricular activities, the group shown least likely to do drugs. Way to go, guys!

[Azred]

Because so many people want only to win the "war on drugs", regardless of the consequences, no one has bothered to seriously question the Constitutionality of random drug screens. The bottom line is that random drug tests presume guilt on the part of the students, thus the burden of proof is upon those students to show their innocence.

Drug tests should be administered only when drug use is suspected, even for athletic competitions.

[/)eathKiller]

LEAST? hello! Jocks are the most likeley to do steroids you know [img]tongue.gif[/img] I doubt you'll ever see a goth stabbin themself with a needle in a school bathroom [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[True_Moose]

No, you'll just see a goth getting stoned on crystal meph or crack outside.

PS: Didn't make this clear. Steroid testing's fine, I'm talking about illegal drugs. And yes, it has been proven.

[The Hunter of Jahanna]

You say it like Meth is a bad thing , Moose!! Meth and steroids actualy have a lot in common. Both give an increase in energy and aggressiveness, both will cause athletes to gain muscle strength when used in conjunction with exercise, both will cause preformance increases, and both will give you a heart attack and kill you if you over do it. The downide to them is that meth will make you grind your teeth out of your head while steroids will just make you grow breasts. It is up to you as to weather you would rather be toothless or have mantits.

[True_Moose]

Hehe, that's one of the best ways to bug a substitute...after all, "mantits" is a scientific term.

[Jeffi0]

It isn't surprising... They've done them a few times at our school, and I live in Canada not the US. The Canadian government always wants to save every penny they can lay their hands on. They even tried to tax people because the hydro company was in debt. So, if they are willing to spend on drug testing, they must feel it's important. I'll admit, a lot of people do drugs at our school, but it is mostly weed, though needle drugs aren't really uncommon. :\

[Triconan]

In my middle school a drug sniffing dog comes in every once and a while. It's a big joke to pretend to snort the last of your line or hide pretend pot. Oh well I think my science teacher last year used steroids, lets just say he had "mantits"

[LennonCook]

They have to.
It is a school`s responsibility to make sure that the kids learn their work. Drugs, besides being illegal at that age (and in most cases, illegal *period*) they can intefere with a student`s ability to learn.
But the main thing is the legal factor. A school is not above the law, and is the legal guardian of it`s students in school hours and at school functions. That means that a school is in trouble if a student is caught either using drugs on campus, or under the influence of drugs on campus (including on excursion and at discos etc.).
So, the school has to stop student`s from using drugs.

How are they going to do that ?? Just making a rule against it doesn`t help - students swear at every school in the world, and that`s often the number 1 rule.
So, they have to do random tests, because the only alternative is that they test every student every day.

My school owns a breathaliser which is taken to every Disco, every excursion, and will be used at the Year 10 formal. Students get fined for smoking on campus or in uniform, much like they would be for an overdue library book.
I don`t think that this is at all over the top - if a student is found to be using drugs while under the school`s duty of care, they either have to be stopped and punished for it, or the school can be in alot of trouble. So, schools have to take actions to prevent drug use, or atleast deter it.

[ 11-15-2002, 03:05 AM: Message edited by: LennonCook ]