In a town named Vernonia, Oregon, the local public schools faced a major problem regarding the drug use of students while participating in high school athletics (3). The Vernonia School Board were disturbed that drug use increases the risk of sports-related injury (4), so they approved an anti-drug policy, the Student Athlete Drug Policy, which requires random drug testing of the school’s student athletes (5). However, this became a conflict with the parents of a child named James Acton. The parents refused to sign a consent form to allow their kid to take the drug test because they felt it went against the 4th Amendment’s prohibition against “unreasonable” searches (6). The case was dismissed in the Federal District Court and was appealed to the Court of Appeals for the 9th District (7). This court favored the Acton families’ complaint, but random drug testing in public schools was ruled allowable in 1988 in Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin (8). The case went on appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to conclude conflicting court decisions (9).…
As for the pros of the required drug testing, there are quite a few to take into consideration. The first pro to consider is that it’s not fair to the tax payers to have to pay for others’ drug addictions. For all the tax payers in the world, all the taxes we pay out of our paychecks, pockets, etc. go to the government. This money then in turn goes to things such as paying schools, funding clubs, and more importantly, to support those persons seeking welfare. It’s not fair to those tax payers if in fact those people on or seeking welfare are stuck in an addiction and use the welfare money to support their habit. Tax payers are obviously working to earn their money, so why should they have to work to pay off the habits of the people who are too lazy…
The main goal for most athletes is to get to the highest level of their sport and to get there you need to start practicing you skills early and have dedication. Some athletes use performance-enhancing drugs like steroids to help them get to that level. It’s becoming a problem to the point that people in high school are starting to use drugs; since there is no drug testing for high school athletics, they get away with using these drugs without fear of the consequences. The students that do take advantage of not dealing with drug testing are going to have an edge over their peers who are more concerned with their future health and are trying to make it with hard work and dedication. To some people the future risks aren’t as important as making it to the show so they see no problem in putting thing into their bodies.…
For countless years, students have been drug tested, while teachers remain un-involved. Although teachers can request at any time that a student get drug tested, students are unable to request for teachers to be tested. People may believe that a teacher should not be tested, but they have just as much access, if not more, to drugs as students do. Therefore; drug testing should be required for teachers. Besides the biological parents, teachers have a powerful influence over students. If a person is going to have a career that molds the teens in our society, regardless of whatever opinion the teacher may have about marijuana or heroin, he or she should ensue the rules that have been provided by our government.…
“[Drug testing] may make drug users less willing to disclose and therefore keep them from connecting with treatment…’If people are afraid they’ll lose their benefits if they admit to using drugs, it makes it hard for them to say, ‘Hey, actually I have this issue,’ (ThinkProgress)…
The issue of mandatory drug testing for certain jobs is perplexing and a complicated topic. After hearing both sides of the debate presented in class, I feel that drug testing for certain jobs is a beneficial aspect to incorporate into the workplace. I feel this way due to the potential that testing for drugs in certain jobs such as healthcare, government officials, law enforcement and other occupations that involve decisions that can directly impact the lives of others, has on removing harmful individuals from positions of power and the direct influence that testing has on those individuals to avoid drugs while working.…
They should be tested every other week or at least once a month. Some might argue that it is an invasion of privacy, but in reality they are just afraid of being caught for doing illegal activities. For one, the consumption of alcohol is illegal for minors, and all high school students are under age. Secondly, athletes represent the school they play for, and they don’t want to be know as the guy or girl that got blacked out drunk the sunday before the game. And last but not least, taking drugs can have an immense negative impact on the student's health. According to, the illustration–How Drugs Affect Sport Performance–on Richard L. Worsnop article it states that although Amphetamines can, “[h]eighten alertness and postpones onset of fatigue,” it can result in long term consequences like, “[f]eelings of anxiety and restlessness, accompanied by rapid heartbeat and breathing; [and] risk of addiction.” Many of drugs taken have similar effect on the body, it enhances the athletes performances, they recover faster, and even let them gain muscle mass, etc. On the other hand, they all have worse long term effects then the temporary effect they athletes do them for. For example, Beta-blockers can cause asthma, erythropoietin can result in a stroke or heart attack, while steroids can cause liver and heart disease, and even sterility (Worsnop). Four year varsity basketball player, Kristopher Nicolas states, “I personally have never taken drugs, but I know of teammates that have. I believe that if one truly loves the sport than they don’t any enhancements to be better at it, it has to come from one's inner motivation. A good pep talk before the game is more than enough to motivate me.” Besides the fact, that alcohol and drug use can have a serious impact on one's health, drugs are illegal, and any student caught should not be allowed to part of a…
Anyone willing to apply for a job or joining the military is subject to random drug tests. Anyone that works and pays taxes helps the welfare system. The reason testing could be justified would be how much fraud is generally found each year alone without drug testing and just by reasonable suspecion. “The Office of Inspector General (OIG) identified $16.67 million in fraud during Fiscal Year (FY)2011 within multiple Michigan public assistance program areas” (michigan.gov). Drug testing would save the government money and help distribute the benefits more to those who actually need…
In many states, including Arkansas, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and Washington there has been lawsuits filed against the school districts for their drug testing policies. Parents say that innocent students will be punished and their rights will be violated because if an innocent student tests positive for a drug test because there was a glitch in the testing, this can be a very serious accusation to a student who is guilty (Citation). It goes past the students’ privacy because when the athlete is taking the illicit substance they are trying to help themselves be better at the sport they are playing in, and this is their way to play at the next level in sports. If they were to get caught with these drugs in their system, it can put them on probation and possibly get them suspended from the team which can ruin their chances at getting a scholarship for college, and moving on to the professional level from college. Most people say that it can harm student athletes in an emotional and mental state, but what parents do not know is that it can affect the student physical especially if the student is taking substances and is playing in high impact sports which can put the athlete at a higher risk for head, and other body injuries. Schools wanted to start…
Among the main points of controversy for this issue is that the American Civil Liberties Union argues that it is a violation of the Fourth Amendment, saying the law constituted an “unreasonable search and seizure” by the government. (Sulzberger) Advocates for the poor say the testing policies single out and vilify victims of the recession, disputing the idea that people on welfare are more likely to use drugs. I expect the average working; tax paying citizen would disagree with the notion that drug testing is a violation of any rights. Especially since most of these individuals had to undergo a drug test to get the job that that in turn helps to pay for federal assistance programs.…
The topic of drugs in schools has always been one that is prevalent in society and a main concern toward protecting our youth. Billions of dollars get spent every year on drug agencies that focus on stopping the importation of drugs to America and their distribution. Some of those funds also go to anti-drug campaigning and agencies that speak to schools and young adults about the dangers of using drugs. Yet with all this money spent on drug enforcement it still seems that drugs are more prevalent in schools and everyday life more than ever. From my own personal experience and having attended both a public and private high school it was easy to find someone to buy drugs from and even easier to know people that did drugs and went to class high on something. This brings the idea of drug testing in schools to question and whether it should be done to stop drug use before it starts.…
Many of people don’t know about random drug testing for students in high school. There are many good things that come from randomly drug testing students. Random drug testing should be allowed for students in high school because it gives students a reason to not do drugs, it catches students that are doing drugs and it can help drug users get back on track in life. Randomly drug testing students is a good idea because it not only helps students that do drugs but it also saves the people around them because it scares them and given them an out, an easy way to say no.…
Government assistance is good for those people who don’t abuse it and are willing to follow the rules no matter how silly or degrading they may seem. Random drug testing is not meant to hurt people or make them feel degraded it’s only to eliminate those who abuse the assistance and help others who really need the help. Many people support random drug testing and believe there is nothing wrong with the government wanting to do…
Without suspicion of drug use, schools cannot require drug tests of athletes, because it violates their Fourth Amendment right. According to the US Bill Of Rights: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause.” (Cayton). This means that you need probable cause or suspicion of drug use before you can require a drug test of someone. School athletes should not be subject to unjust searches based on non-existent evidence. The searches would be both unlawful and unreasonable thus making the policy unconstitutional. Nevertheless, there are many people who oppose this policy, and believe that student-athlete drug testing is needed to protect the common good and ensure the safety of everyone (Mikula). However, no policy should be able to violate the constitution and infringe on the student’s privacy. An example of this is from a court case involving a Texas School District. The Texas School argued that they needed a policy to test student-athletes for drugs to help control the “drug crisis” going on at their school.…
Random drug testing in high schools is constitutional, and all students who participate in competitive extracurricular activities can be forced to comply with random drug testing. Schools are also allowed to conduct drug tests on students if suspicion arises that they have been using drugs. There are many reasons why conducting random drug tests on students is important. Drug tests are not only useful for creating a strong and secure place for learning, but they also provide an escape for students who have been put under…