DRUG TESTING `NOT TESTED' - LAWYER

Rotorua: Concern about breaching students' rights should not stop schools from introducing drug testing, a Rotorua lawyer says.

Some Rotorua schools are undecided about introducing drug testing for fear of infringing on students' rights.

Rotorua family lawyer Jon Olphert, who has a special interest in child custody cases, says they should not dismiss the idea.

Since June last year about 40 children in Whangarei, most aged 13 to 14, have been part of a routine testing programme for cannabis.

Rotorua principals said a similar programme in their schools might help to identify the problem early and help bring down the high level of drug-related expulsions and suspensions.

But there are legal implications under the Bill of Rights Act 1990, the Privacy Act 1993 and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Mr Olphert, who is also on the board of trustees at John Paul College, said drug testing in schools had yet to be tested in court and talk of breaching students' rights should not stop schools from introducing a programme.

"My own view is that children need to be protected against outside influences and in this case the right for protection over-rides personal rights," he said.

Rotorua Boys High School head guidance counsellor Tom Hale said drug testing was not a sole solution to the problem but could be used as a tool in a wider programme.