Study Says: Drug Testing in Schools Doesn’t Work, But There Are Better Ways to Keep Kids Off Drugs

A new
study (pdf) published in the Journal of Study on Alcohol
and Drugs based on 361 high school students assessed one year
apart finds that student drug testing “was not associated with
changes in substance use, whereas perceived positive school
climates were associated with a reduction in cigarette and
marijuana initiation and a reduction in escalation of frequency of
cigarette use.”

The study also found that neither drug testing nor a “positive
school climate” affected alcohol use, because, the study authors
claim, it is “normative.” The study defined a positive school
climate based on asking students who were followed how they felt
about whether: “(a) the rules in the school are clear, (b) teachers
can handle problems in the school, and the level of respect between
(c) students, (d) teachers for students, and (e) students for
teachers is high.”

Ten years ago, in the 2004-2005 academic year, one
in seven school districts had some kind of random drug testing
program. Sometimes the introduction of drug testing, or even drug
dogs, in schools is met with
thunderous applause. Sometimes some parents put up opposition.
Parents at one high school in New Jersey have recently taken their
school district to court looking for documents the district said
showed drug testing was needed, but also claimed those documents
were confidential and privileged. A state judge decided in the

parents’ favor, awarding them $7,500 in legal fees and ruling
the school shouldn’t have withheld documents and that using private
e-mail didn’t mean they could evade open records laws. You can put
up a fight, or
let the Marge Simpsons win.

More Reason on drug
testing.