NO QUICK FIX

School-Based Drug Testing Is Costly, Intrusive and Counterproductive.

Though touted by the Bush administration as the "silver bullet" that
will force teenagers to "just say no," random drug testing is of
questionable effectiveness. It is also costly, counterproductive and
violates basic American values. That's why the million-member
California State PTA, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the
National Education Association, the National Council on Alcoholism
and Drug Dependence, and the majority of the nation's school
districts oppose school-based drug testing.

According to the Academy of Pediatrics, "There is little evidence of
the effectiveness of school-based drug testing in the scientific
literature." In fact, the only federally funded, peer-reviewed study,
which compared 94,000 students in 900 U.S. schools, found no
difference in illegal drug use between schools with and without a
testing program.

Before subjecting secondary school students to a policy as invasive
as random drug testing, evidence of its efficacy should be more
conclusive than anecdotes offered by a few enthusiastic proponents
and a drug testing industry that stands to reap billions.

Drug testing is costly. With federal grants, individual schools, many
of them strapped for funds, spend between $10,000 and $40,000 per
year for testing. This money could be used more productively for
sports, arts, drama, music and other extracurricular activities that
keep teens engaged between3 and 6 p.m., when they are bored and
unsupervised. The funds could also be used to hire credentialed
counselors who could focus full-time on substance abuse and related
mental health issues.

Drug testing, regardless of how it's packaged, is an invasive
diagnostic procedure. Like other health issues, alcohol and other
drug use should first and foremost be the domain of parents and
physicians. If parents want to drug-test their own children, they can
easily buy over-the-counter kits at their local pharmacies or see
their family doctors, leaving schools out of it.

There is no quick fix for the complex issue of substance abuse.
Quality drug education and after-school programs that help students
thrive will best result in the kind of responsible decision-making
that endures beyond the teen years and into adulthood.