Drug Testing for naught? No, but maybe a mixed bag at best...

A recent study from the U.S. Department of Education shows that drug testing high school students who participate in athletics and other extracurricular activities doesn’t have any long-term effect on usage rates.

So maybe we're left with a bit of a short-term "buzz" but long-term, we still have the same problems. Isn't it somewhat ironic that this is one of the core arguments against turning to drug use as an escape or a patch over life's problems in the first place?

So maybe in addition to saying 'no' to drugs, we need to look at saying 'no' to policies that may make us feel better about dealing with the problem in appearance, but in reality puts us in no better place than we originally started.


High school drug testing shows no long-term effect on use


http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-07-15-drugtesting14_st_N.htm?referer=d1a38dbaf3c5c3b7d2fad43e9b99a392

THE FINDINGS:

New research paints a decidedly mixed picture when it comes to mandatory drug testing for high school students trying out for sports or other extracurricular activities: While testing seems to reduce self-reported drug use in the short term, it has virtually no effect on teens' plans to use drugs in the future.

A U.S. Department of Education study, out today, surveyed students at 36 high schools that got federal grants to do drug testing. Half of the schools had already begun testing for marijuana, amphetamines and other drugs; the other half had not.

THE PLUSSES AND MINUSES:

The results are mildly encouraging for drug-test proponents: They show that fewer kids in extracurricular activities reported using drugs when testing took place, compared with peers in schools where drug testing hadn't been implemented.

In schools with testing, 16.5% of students reported using tested-for drugs within the previous 30 days, vs. 21.9% in other schools.

And testing didn't seem to discourage students from going out for activities.

But that's basically where the good news ends. Testing didn't seem to have a "spillover effect" on kids who weren't trying out for extracurriculars — in both sets of schools, 36% of these students said they had used drugs in the previous 30 days.And testing had no effect on the number of drug-related "disciplinary incidents." in schools.

What's perhaps most troubling: Testing had no effect on kids' plans to use drugs in the future. In both sets of schools, about one in three students said they "probably" or "definitely" will use drugs in the next year.