The Moral Problem Associated with Impromptu Toxicology Screening in Us Academic Institutions

According to a recent study, 55% of teens have tried drugs for the first time because of peer pressure (Foundation for a Drug-Free World). This study shows that the reason why students do drugs in schools is because they are pressured by their friends. Peer pressure is never going away and drug testing will not make the peer pressure go away. Based on the evidence explored, mandatory drug testing should not take place in schools.

Schools should not have the right to drug test their students because it costs a lot of money. For example, “The Bush administration asks $15 million to fund random drug testing” (“Random Drug Testing Cannot”). The government wants a ton of money to perform these random drug tests. This is not necessary, for drug testing money can be better used on other supplies. It is a waste of money to be spending on random drug testing because there are more important things to put that kind of money towards. There also is no guarantee of finding those who do drugs with a drug test. Kids can get around drug testing by not doing drugs at the time of the test. It doesn’t stop peer pressure because even though the students may not do drugs or they do, the students are still being pressured into doing drugs no matter what.

Some would argue that schools care about students lives outside of school and that is why they drug test. Even though this argument may apply in a few select cases, as a whole it is not true because students lives outside of school should be a parent issue not a school issue. Larry Tannahill refused to sign a policy that gave the school permission to drug test his son because he felt that he could take care of his son’s problem, if there even was one (Larry v. Lockney). This is true because it is not the school’s job to worry about the student’s drug use, it the parents’ job. It is the school’s job to educate the students. When the schools do random drug testing it shows that they do not trust what the parents are doing at home.

In schools, peer pressure is more influential than a drug test. Drug testing should not be allowed because it is not effective. The Office of Management and Budget states that, “The program has failed to demonstrate effectiveness in reducing youth drug use, violence, and crime” (“Random Drug Testing Cannot”). Schools have failed to show how effective this drug testing program is. They failed to show how it reduces drug usage, violence and crime within the youth of the school.

Conclusion: Random drug testing should not be allowed in schools because it is really expensive, it is the parent's’ job to know what their kids are doing outside of school, and it is not really expensive. Instead of drug testing, the money should go to something more important to schools like supplies and equipment. The parents should stand up for what they believe, especially if they feel that their kids’ rights are being violated. According to a study, over 50% of student have done drugs for the first time because they feel pressured by their peers to do it.