HERE'S YOUR CUP, JUNIOR

Students from Paradise, Calif., to Pequannock, N.J., are turning in
more than just their homework this school year. At the behest of the
White House, tens of thousands of middle and high school students are
required to randomly submit their urine to school authorities - and
it's America's taxpayers who are footing the bill.

Though promoted as a "silver bullet" in the Bush administration's
efforts to curb teen drug use, the reality of random student drug
testing is far less flattering. Student drug testing without
suspicion is ineffective, costly and opens a "Pandora's Box" of
serious ethical questions. That's according to the only federally
commissioned study ever to assess the efficacy of student drug
testing on a national basis. The study, conducted by the University
of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, found no difference in
the level of illegal drug use between students in schools that test
for illicit drugs and those in schools that do not.

"Drug testing of students in schools does not deter use," said the
University of Michigan news release summarizing the findings of the
four-year study, which was later published in the Journal of School
Health. "At each grade level studied - 8, 10 and 12 - the
investigators found virtually identical rates of drug use in schools
that have drug testing and the schools that do not."

More recently, a comprehensive review by Britain's distinguished
Joseph Rowntree Foundation also gave student drug testing a failing
grade. Their report noted that objective evidence supporting the
effectiveness of random, student drug testing is "remarkably thin"
and warned that the policy could do greater harm than good.

That's because student drug testing "undermine[s] trust between
pupils and staff" and in some cases "encourage[s] pupils to switch
from [the] use of cannabis ... that can be traced a relatively long
time after use, to drugs that are cleared from the body much more
quickly, including heroin."

In other words, if you're looking for a surefire way to persuade
little Johnny to switch from pot to binge drinking or crank, look no
further than student drug testing.

Experts also warn that suspending students from participating in
extracurricular activities for failing or refusing to take a drug
test may cause teens undue and long-term harm. According to professor
Howard Taras, chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Committee on School Health: "[Drug] screening may decrease
involvement in extracurricular activities among students who
regularly use or have once used drugs. Without such engagement in
healthy activities, adolescents are more likely to drop out of
school, become pregnant, join gangs, pursue substance abuse and
engage in other risky behaviors."

Disturbingly, the Bush administration has turned a blind eye to these
concerns. This spring, the administration sponsored a series of
regional symposiums to encourage public school districts nationwide
to enact random, student drug testing.

The White House also proposed increasing federal funding for student
drug testing programs by more than 150 percent - the bulk of which is
earmarked to pay for the implementation of local student drug testing
programs at taxpayers' expense.

To date, Congress has raised barely a whisper about the
administration's record funding request. Most recently, politicians
refused to debate an amendment to the House Labor and Education
appropriations bill that sought to scale back the administration's
proposed expansion of the program. Congress and the White House would
be best advised to abandon the policy altogether.

Random drug testing of students is a humiliating, invasive practice
that runs contrary to the principles of due process. It compels teens
to potentially submit evidence against themselves and forfeit their
privacy rights as necessary requirements for attending school. Rather
than presuming our school children innocent of illicit activity, drug
testing without suspicion presumes them guilty until they prove
themselves innocent. Is this truly the message the Bush
administration wishes to send to America's young people?

Students should not be taught that they must abandon their
constitutional liberties at the school door or that they must submit
to an invasion of their privacy because those in Washington are
willing to write off an entire generation of students as potential
criminals in their overzealous "war" on drugs.

Paul Armentano is a senior policy analyst for the NORML Foundation in
Washington.