DRUG TESTING SPARKS DEBATE

Edgewood Schools plan to begin random drug tests of high school
students in 'non-graded' activities.

A look at trentontalk.com shows a community with residents both for
and against Edgewood City Schools' plan to begin random drug testing
of high school students.

A look nationwide shows that divisiveness isn't limited to the
Edgewood community.

Nearly 45 percent of high school seniors reported in 2005 that they
had used marijuana at least once, according to a Monitor the Future
study.

The district plans to implement random drug testing of students in
"non-graded" activities or privileges as part of its comprehensive
drug and alcohol education programs to move toward its goal of being
100 percent drug-free, said district spokesman John Thomas.

The U.S. Supreme Court has twice ruled drug-testing students is
constitutional.

But the American Civil Liberties Union claims that student drug
testing violates Fourth Amendment rights prohibiting unlawful search
and seizure.

Random drug testing as a preventive tool works, according to the
Office of National Drug Control Policy. An Oregon school that randomly
drug-tested its student athletes reported drug use rates were 25
percent that of a similar school without a drug-testing policy,
according to a Journal of Adolescent Health article.

But other studies have found that drug-testing students does not curb
teen drug use, according to the Drug Policy Alliance.

A 2003 Journal of School Health article on a 1998 to 2001 study
stated, "School drug-testing was not associated with either the
prevalence or the frequency of student marijuana use or of other
illicit drug use."

The study included schools testing for suspicion of drug use. However,
in also studying policies of testing athletes, the study did not find
use among male athletes was affected by testing.

Edgewood board members voted Aug. 27 to implement random drug testing
for students who drive to or participate in extracurricular
activities. Those students will be asked to sign a consent form in
order to participate in those activities, said Thomas.