...Drug Testing in School Youa Vang DeVry University Drug Testing in School Drug use has continued to increase within the past years. “An estimated 22.5 million Americans from the age of 12 or older had used an illicit drug or abused a psychotherapeutic medication in 2011. That is 8.7 percent of the US population (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2012).” Most people start taking drugs in their early teenage years because they get pressured easily. With drugs being one of the biggest pressures, it can happen anywhere outside of home. One usually gets talked into trying drugs because he either was stressed out, he wants to fit in, or he wants to look cool. Drug use can have a huge impact on one’s behavior and academic performances. It will make it difficult for a student to get along with others and to concentrate, not only at school, but, also, at home. By using drugs, one can experience sudden memory loss. Students entering junior high and beyond should receive drug test regularly and randomly to prevent drug abuse, help students stay in school and benefit their life long decision-making. Drug testing in school is not about catching students who use drugs. Rather, it is to prevent students from using it and to seek help for those that need it. Mandatory drug testing would be a way to ensure students’ safety and help them stay in school. By requiring drug testing, students will have a reason to say no when being offered any. When a student uses drugs and comes...
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...Kids think drug testing is like getting stung by a bee. At first it hurts and they try everything to prevent it from happening. Nowadays, schools implement drug testing to try and help students and prevent drug abuse, but many students find it annoying and stupid instead of helpful. However, drug testing is an important thing because it is trying to keep students safe and provide a safe environment in which they can grow and develop into functioning members of society. The first reason drug testing is important is it allows for early detection of substance abuse and intervention. Catching drug abuse early in a student’s life can save his or her life or help them get put back on the right track in school and their daily life. Drug testing in schools can be annoying and expensive, but if you think about it saving someone's life early on before they get addicted to drugs is more important than the money. “The stated goal of such programs is to identify students with possible substance abuse issues and to intervene early.” (John, par 2) Intervention can be a hard thing, especially when you are a teenager, and talking about the reasons why drugs seem necessary can be a tough exercise, but in the end it is for the best. From my own...
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...Many schools have implemented drug testing for students playing sports or joining extracurricular activities. This new program has caused overwhelming controversy among schools, teachers, parents, students, and other officials across the country. The biggest reason for these new found programs may be contributed to recent polls, which have shown an increase in drug use among students. Now many parents, teachers, students, and other officials are for drug testing. However, many are not. One argument against drug testing is that it invades the students privacy. The fourth amendment states "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." This was put into place to protect U.S citizens against practices such as random drug testing. Without cause there is no reason to do a random drug test. On the other hand what about a student’s right to an education in a safe and drug free environment? According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse “ marijuana use has increased in 2011 to 7.2% of 8th graders, 17.6% of 10th graders, and 22.6% of 12th graders this is up from 5.7%, 14.2% and 18.8% in 2007.” And according to the U.S. Department of Human Health Services the “Illicit drug use rate among children...
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...The making of a good school is the ability of the school to educate, monitor and prevent students from being involved in drug abuse. Having a set of regulations and guidelines helps the district to set perimeters for students’ behavior. One such guideline should include the use of drugs as a violation to school rules. It should be a school policy that any student participating in any sport will be subjected to a random drug test. It should also be standard practice that when a student goes out for any sport, that coach should be responsibility for taking the student through an orientation session to inform the students of his/her responsibility as it relates to staying drug-free. It is the school district’s responsibility to monitor this...
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...Students have to come to school sober, the teachers should too. Schools randomly drug test their students; not to mention, the teachers that educate those students never have to submit to a drug test. More than four out of five U.S. employers now require pre-employment drug tests (Join Together Staff); however, school corporations are not one of them. When parents send their children to school they are putting the safety of their children in others hands. The parents are expecting that those adults will be responsible enough to take care of their child. The schools do not even know for sure if their faculty is or is not trustworthy because the teachers do not have to undergo a drug test even before they are given the privilege to work in that...
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...In the past few years, drug use in high school students has continually increased. Drug use is a major problem and is becoming more and more of a dilemma everyday. Because of this, school administration are starting to take a stand. They have began giving “random” drug tests. These drug tests affect students who participate in extracurricular activities, plan on attending prom, and have a high school parking pass. By giving these random drug tests, schools are given a chance to track the drug usage throughout their school. Teen drug and narcotic usage has became more of a problem in recent years due to the fact that students are beginning to feel more comfortable with the consequences that could be faced when being caught with or using drugs. By putting that into perspective, raising the consequences of being caught with drugs along with conducting drug tests, the usage of drugs and narcotics may become more feared. People have concurred that drug testing has both strengths and weaknesses; however, many people will agree that the arguments agreeing with drug testing outweigh the arguments against it. Random drug tests are a distinguished way to control the uprising problem of drug usage among teenagers. Although high school drug tests have caused controversy, they are the best way to solve the drug...
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...performance and schools. I think that school should have random drug tests because I feel it will help student and their daily activities. Students cannot focus well while being in a classroom while under the influence of marijuana or any other kind of drugs. Smoking can have an effect on a lot of teenager’s grades. There has been a big failure rate in the Unites States due to teenager’s low performance. Most of the low performance is due to drug use. Around the world a lot of schools have had killings. Someone under the influence brought a gun to school and caused deaths of students. If there be random...
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...We all know that random drug testing students has been the talk for many years. The questions that parents are asking, is if testing is really beneficial, and if it helps prevent drug abuse or not. Parents argue that if it will help, and other argue that it’s nothing but a violation of students rights. Side A of the argument states that random drug testing can help prevent drug abuse. A columbia University did a survey on teens and they found out that 62 percent of high schoolers and 28 percent of middle schoolers knew of drugs being sold and used at their schools. The students that go to a school that has drugs are more likely to start using them, than the kids that are at a drug free school. Califano states “ I think when parents feel...
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...the CASA revealed some shocking facts about drugs in schools. “The survey revealed that at least once a week on their school grounds, 9% of middle school students (more than 1 million) see illegal drugs used, sold, students high and/or students drunk. At least weekly, 17% of all high and middle school students (4.4 million) personally see classmates high on drugs at school” (...America’s Schools Are Infested With Drugs). These are just a few examples of problems that would be solved with middle school drug testing. “Mandatory drug testing in public middle schools is a relatively new issue for the law. Introduced during the late 1980s and expanding over the decade, the practice of analyzing student urine...
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...Drug Testing High School Students It has been known that people who become involved with drugs at a young age are more likely to drop out of school and have a smaller chance at being successful. Association with drugs has also been known to have a direct tie to violence as well. To promote healthy lifestyles and successful futures, some school administrations have begun drug testing students involved with extracurricular activities. Some administrators believe that drug testing sends a bad message to their students. The administrators think that implementing the testing for students will make students believe they are considered guilty until proven innocent, along with potentially violating their Fourth Amendment right. The big picture that administrators need to acknowledge is that schools with less exposure to drugs and violence create a safer learning environment for...
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...Drug testing school students is an idea that started spreading throughout high schools in the late 1980's. Very few schools across the United States would drug test students during this era. School districts started out just testing athletes. A couple decades later, junior high students would start to be added to those who are tested. This is when schools would expand testing to extra-curricular activities outside of sports. Students in band, choir, or those who drive to school would be required to submit to drug testing. ("Drug Testing: Background Information") About 20 percent of schools now enforce random drug testing. (Cheng "Drug Testing in Schools is Ineffective") School districts will randomly select students to be tested. These students will only be from a pool of students active in extra-curricular activities. Students can also be drug tested if the school has reasonable suspicion of them using drugs or having drugs on them. It will usually be a urine sample from one or more of the students selected. They then test these samples for drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and even prescription pills. ("FAQ: Drug Testing in Schools") Schools have implemented drug testing to help decrease the amount of drug use in their communities and to make school environments better. ("FAQ: Drug Testing in Schools") Over 1,000 public school districts have now implemented some sort of drug testing policy for their students. In 2002, The supreme court ruled that random drug testing...
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...the Supreme Court ruled that both middle and high schools have the choice of whether or not to test students for illegal drugs. When deciding, they have to consider the pros and cons. There are articles that state that drug testing should be done in both middle and high school. There are also articles that state there should not be drug testing in middle and high school. You may be asking yourself why should both middle and high school students be tested for drug use? According to one article, if students are tested, it will help the students to stay drug free. In addition, if there is no drug use in a persons teen years they are less likely to use drugs as an adult. There are both short and long term affects of taking drugs in the teen years! It could very well lead to poor judgement, poor decision making, and drugs could even effect those around you. (What You Need to Know About Drug Testing in Schools). If drug testing occurs in your school, it may decrease the amount of drug usage because of fear of getting caught. Athletes will also want to continue with sports or activities. “For one thing, it gives them a good excuse to say “no” to drugs.” (What You Need to Know About Drug Testing in Schools 4). It helps students to say no, because they can claim that they will be kicked off the team, or grounded, if they get caught. You may be saying to yourself, “why shouldn’t middle and high school students be tested for drugs?” The first reason is parents should trust their children...
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...A majority of schools do not have the leeway to support unproductive, mandatory drug testing of high school student athletes. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, drug testing is in need for more research due to the lack of evidence and success it produces (Christopher). In fact a national survey of high school students concludes that random drug testing does not reduce scholars’ substance use within school (Study Finds Random). High school athletes should not be drug tested because of the negative effects and alternative solutions. Most high school athletic drug testing contracts are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars (Mary). In that case Dr. Sharon Levy of the AAP stated that every student that gets drug tested it is worth $24. Dr. Sharon Levy also estimates that there is about one positive test for every 125 students tested, and it costs approximately $3,000 for each positive (Christopher). With that in mind out of 3,311 drug tests, the University Interscholastic League, in Texas, conducted there were nine positives. In fact the progressive rate of positive drug tests has never risen above one percent (Mary). Also, following a year with the lack of financing, the Florida High School Athlete Association disconnected after the drug testing of “600 students for $100,000.” “Not to mention the championship event of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, when 500 student...
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...Brothers High School, all the students must take a mandatory drug test. Schools do this to teach and establish that taking drugs is extremely wrong and can ruin your future. Over the years at CBHS, several students have failed their drug tests and have been asked to leave the school. This is a harsh, yet rational punishment for breaking the school rules and state laws. Drug Testing is a great idea because it teaches students to shy away from drugs, it will keep students focused on their school work, and it will help the school build a good reputation. Some students and parents believe that drug testing is bad idea because the school could use the money it spends on drug testing for other school projects. Although, other people believe it is worth the money because it teaches the students to shy away from drugs. As students enter high school, they start to realize and see more of the world that surrounds them every day. Some parents find this very scary because they want their son to make good decisions and follow the rules. Yet, parents understand that their children are being exposed to both alcohol and drugs. Luckily at Christian Brothers High School, the students are...
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...4/9/14 Mrs. Yarow A Proposal for Drug Testing of Community College Athletes To be the best in America today is often to some people the only thing that matters. This is especially true in the world of sports where big money and big egos are constantly waging battle to show who is the best and the biggest. Often times however there are those athletes who want to take things a step further, and that means steroids. It is for this reason that we believe that in the spirit of fair competition, community college athletes should be tested for performance enhancing drugs deemed illegal by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). In this day and age, athletes have become some of the most respected and sought out members of our society. Salaries of professional athletes are constantly skyrocketing to new levels, while the growing fan base continues to support it. Why have sports become so intriguing to our society? Perhaps it is the fact that athletes are bigger, stronger, and faster than ever before. They can perform at a much more competitive level and achieve previously unattainable goals. Some of this can be contributed to the evolution of man and sports, but many concede that performance enhancing drugs seem to raise the standard of excellence for many athletes. College athletes must deal with the pressure of using drugs to compete at a higher level. The NCAA is the governing body of all college athletics and is responsible for the drug program. Each year the NCAA publishes...
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