Students Should Be Drug Tested Essay

In the book of guidelines for MSD of Boone Township, there is a rule that states if students are in a school sport or in a club, they are put in a pool of students that are liable to be drug tested. Random drug screenings to students that are in grades 9-12, participate in extracurricular activities, or those who drive to and from school is an invasion of privacy and therefore should only be limited to drug screenings if reasonable suspicions are raised. Students that participate in clubs, school sports teams, organizations, music groups, and academic competitions are placed into a pool of students that a liable to be drug tested at random. This method, no matter how reliable, is an invasion of privacy and should be limited or discontinued.
According to a study made by the AAP that took place in a school in Carroll County, Georgia, it was estimated that for every 3,000 dollars used, the school found one drug positive student. This means that when the school spends 20,000 dollars on the tests (which they did) they found 6-7 students with drugs and intoxicants on them. Drug and alcohol tests are expensive and cost a lot of money to do, and are an invasion of privacy and should be limited or done away with entirely. Some would say that the drug tests help keep the school drug free and safe.
Maybe, but at what cost. First of all, drug tests are very expensive to do, and the money used for drug tests can be used for other things such as sports equipment or extracurricular classes. Second of all, the drug tests only affect people that are in sports or clubs, people who drive to and from school, and people whose parents ask for it. This is unreliable for the people who don’t do any of these activities or have parents that don’t order it. Also for alcohol tests, most if not all people under the influence of alcohol experience short term symptoms such as slurring of speech, staggering, drowsiness, emotional changes, and lowering of body temperature. The user’s breath will also smell like this intoxicating beverage, therefore, negates the the need for a random alcohol test as the effects can be seen. This problem can be solved by simply limiting drug tests to only students whose parents want it and if reasonable suspicion for a student under the influence is raised, therefore the rule should be changed to look like this,”Drug and alcohol tests are only administered if reasonable suspicions are raised and if the parent of said student orders such.” Alcohol tests should be eliminated entirely for the reasons that have been stated. This would eliminate random drug tests the school can save money for things that
matter. Random drug screenings to students that are in grades 9-12, participate in extracurricular activities, or those who drive to and from school is an invasion of privacy and therefore should only be limited to drug screenings if reasonable suspicions are raised and if parents order such. First of all, drug tests are very expensive to do, and the money used for drug tests can be used for other things such as sports equipment or extracurricular classes. If the random drug and alcohol tests are limited, the school will have more money to spend. This money can be used for school repairs, better internet, extracurricular activities, athletic equipment, and trips and excursions.

Sincerely,