SCHOOL DRUG TESTING LESS EFFECTIVE THAN PARENTING

More than half of our kids use an illegal substance before they
graduate from high school. If children are subjected to random drug
testing, goes the logic, testing might stop their drug use, or at
least serve as a red flag to their parents who can then turn the kids
around.

But random drug testing doesn't work in the way that its advocates
hope it will. Random drug tests do not answer the critical questions
of how much, or even what, a kid has been taking, or how often.
Testing does not discriminate between kids who experiment and kids who
are seriously involved with drugs. Testing can be inaccurate. A crafty
child can sabotage it. Testing ignores the most medically devastating
drugs: tobacco and alcohol.

But most instructive of all, scientific data show that random drug
testing does not reduce drug use. A 2003 survey of 722 secondary
American schools involving 76,000 students by the University of
Michigan found virtually identical rates of drug use in schools that
have drug testing and schools that do not.

The problem with random testing is that not all of our kids use drugs,
and even the ones who are at greatest danger are in the minority. So
should we treat all kids as guilty until proven innocent? As a
physician who has drug tested patients thousands of times, my response
is simple: no drug tests without reasonable suspicion.

People who work with addicts know there are perfectly good reasons for
drug testing. Testing helps guide them when an addict is detoxing, or
has just taken an overdose. Drug testing tells you important things
when the patient can't. Drug testing can be an aid in working with
addicts as they flirt with relapse. In a word, drug testing is a
terrific clinical tool. And if you have reason to believe a child is
in trouble with drugs, drug testing may be helpful for that particular
child.

The trick with drug testing children is to balance the desire to keep
our children safe, on the one hand, and protect their rights of
privacy and freedom from illegal searches, on the other. Remember,
children have rights, too.

In 2002, the Supreme Court heard the case brought by high school
student Lindsay Earls against her board of education. As a member of
the Tecumseh High School marching band, she was required to submit to
random urine checks. Earls knew she was drug free and defended her
privacy. She correctly felt that being in a marching band did not
automatically put her at risk for drugs. The National Education
Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics supported her case.

But in a 5-4 decision, the Court ruled against the high school
student. Writing for the majority, Justice Clarence Thomas argued that
schools have a greater interest in protecting children than
maintaining their privacy. The four dissenting justices called the
drug test program "capricious, even perverse." The dissenters further
noted that the Tecumseh drug testing policy invaded the privacy of
students who need deterrence the least, kids motivated to take part in
extracurricular activities, while keeping kids at risk away from
activities that might actually keep them off of drugs.

Despite the Earls case, there has been no stampede by schools to drug
test our kids. One optimistically thinks that common sense may be
loose in the land. Variations on drug testing have been proposed, such
as having parents "register" their children for random testing in
schools. Results would go to the parents, and parents would be
educated regarding treatment options.

We're on the right track, but the solution is really far simpler than
most people would believe. A clean kid does not need to be drug
tested. A kid involved in drugs usually doesn't, either, since a
parent can usually see the red flags of drug abuse if they just take a
close look. So is there a place for drug testing our kids? Sure, when
a parent has suspicion of drug use, or when a kid has something to
prove. Otherwise, the best drug test I know is the hug-and-sniff when
they walk through the front door, with a heart to heart for an
eye-opener the following morning. The strongest weapon we have to
combat drug use in our children is not the chemistry lab, but heads-up
parenting.