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The topic of drugs in schools has always been one that is prevalent in society and a main concern toward protecting our youth. Billions of dollars get spent every year on drug agencies that focus on stopping the importation of drugs to America and their distribution. Some of those funds also go to anti-drug campaigning and agencies that speak to schools and young adults about the dangers of using drugs. Yet with all this money spent on drug enforcement it still seems that drugs are more prevalent in schools and everyday life more than ever. From my own personal experience and having attended both a public and private high school it was easy to find someone to buy drugs from and even easier to know people that did drugs and went to class high on something. This brings the idea of drug testing in schools to question and whether it should be done to stop drug use before it starts.
Brandon Crist who is a member of United Teachers Los Angeles argues that schools should do not drug test students. He claims that it is responsibility of parents, not schools and teachers. To back up his argument and claims “From instilling core values to delivering a hot breakfast, it seems like every year California’s educators are asked to perform another job that was once the responsibility of parents. Adding drug testing to that list is a terrible idea.”
The strengths of Crist’s argument are strong words. He generally used strong words in his argument, so his argument has persuasive power. On the other hand, the weaknesses of his argument are emotional appeal. He is speaking out of frustration, instead of calmly persuading. His argument does not have any detailed data or statistics about his opinion.
Mimi Wood who is a member of the Huntington Beach Union High School District Education Association argues that schools should be drug test students. She claims that every school should be starting the drug test for students and tells us why schools should be start drug test for students.