ONE OF the best weapons against drug use by young people may be random
drug testing of those involved in high school athletics and other
extracurricular activities.

A study at Oregon Health & Sciences University compared drug use
between two high schools. At a high school in The Dalles, Ore.,
student-athletes were subject to random drug testing. At a
demographically similar high school near Astoria, Ore., the students
were not tested.

The results were that students in the school where testing was
commonplace were four times less likely to use drugs. Although the
study is a small one, and only looked at one year, the results are
noteworthy.

It seems reasonable that if young people stand to lose something they
treasure -- the privilege of playing athletics or engaging in other
extracurricular activities -- they will think twice before indulging
in drug use.

Random testing of students involved in extracurricular activities is
likely to reap benefits. Currently, more than 40 Illinois school
districts have adopted testing programs.

That's a good start. The next step should be to study those schools
and gauge the effectiveness of such programs. If random testing proves
to be a significant deterrent to drug use, it will be money and time
well spent.