Video Random drug testing in schools - good idea or abuse of human rights?

[~lostgurl~]

A new entry has been added to Drugs Archive

Description:

7 mins
29 May 2008
Sunrise (NZ)

Random drug testing in our high schools is being mooted as one way to clamp down on methamphetamine, or p. Former detective turned drug educator Mike Sabin is criticising the government for failing to deal with what he calls the p epidemic. He says police are losing the battle against the drug. He has told parliament's justice select committee it should consider introducing zero tolerance for p and random drug testing of school students. But Murray Trenberth from Welltrust which runs a drug education programme says that would not work. Both men spoke to Sunrise.

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Random drug testing in schools - good idea or abuse of human rights?
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[Orchid_Suspiria]

Humans right violation in the guise of combatting the artificial monster of methamphetamine.I don't know about New Zealand but it doesn't seem like too many ninth graders are into crystal meth.

[cra$h]

instead of destroying the abuser, why not the producers? you can take away all of the customers, and there will be just as many, if not more the next day

[Coconut]

Originally Posted by Orchid_Suspiria

Humans right violation in the guise of combatting the artificial monster of methamphetamine.I don't know about New Zealand but it doesn't seem like too many ninth graders are into crystal meth.

Unless they're prescribed Desoxyn of course.

What gives a school the right to randomly test kids for drugs? If I was a parent of one of the students, I'd be furious.

[FuBai]

Originally Posted by c0c0nut

Unless they're prescribed Desoxyn of course.

What gives a school the right to randomly test kids for drugs? If I was a parent of one of the students, I'd be furious.

I would be furious if it was random and compulsory, however targeted tests with parental approval would be a different matter. Random testing ruins any atmosphere of trust, encouraging conflict as it fundementally sets out a default position of being untrustworthy until proven otherwise and detracts from individual responsibility. It also encourages the view amongst children that thier peers are using enough drugs for the school to implement a costly testing programme, thus inadvertently putting pressure on them to use as it seems both common and an easy way to rebel. Moreover drug testing does not make people fear drugs or understand them better, it makes them fear the test. When there is no test (i.e. when they leave school) it all comes down to how well they were educated about drug use, and random testing creates an atmosphere of laziness amongst the staff because they come to believe that with the drug testing there won't be a drugs problem in the school to educate them about.

[Panthers007]

Bongo, too, is a victim of "Random Drug-Testing" on a weekly-ish basis. He must dial a number and see is his color has come up for the following day. Bongo's 'high-crime?' He has long-hair - in honor of his Native heritage. He wears a Lakota-Warrior headband. He speaks in phrases that cause pause - and a mad dash for a dictionary. Must be a doper. Ayup.

Bongo does not use any illegal drugs whatsoever - but remains a perennial suspect. He suspects that if he wore a Star of David, he'd be sent to Bible-Camp. But if they wish to play - Bongo will gladly turn the tables on these Social-Engineers. So...

In Bongo saunters to the Pee-On-Us Clinic. Cowboy hat adorned with Shoot Bush First button and an Obama 2008 lapel-pin. A pair of John Lennon - style sunglasses with red lenses. And at the receptionist area, he clicks his heels together sharply. "I am here to Pee for God & Country!" - proclaims the Ape. While giving a salute that is a mixture of British Army, Hitler's Germany, and the Romulan Empire. At this point the poor receptionist doesn't bother asking who/what he is. She bursts into laughter, and picks up the phone to announce his presence for 'God & Country.' Bongo has the whole office in stitches. Then it's down the steps with some character who escorts the Ape to a room with a one-way mirror - to keep cheating to a minimum.

The questions are dutifully asked: "Have you...?" "NO!" "Here..." Presents his widdle pee-cup. Bongo extolls the virtue of his career: "Must be satisfying work!" The character grunts and swears he's not getting rich. "At least you'll never go thirsty."

And bump, bump, bump - back to the reception-area.

"Ya know...." says Bongo to the girl behind the pee-proof glass - "a doctor always gives his patients a Lolly-Pop. Why don't you get a basket of little US flags to hand out?" She agrees that would be a good idea.

Bongo is pricing these. For God & Country. And his bag of tricks has yet to be fully manifested. Now the pissants demanding Bongo's precious bodily fluids are speaking of charging Bongo $15 per squirt. Bongo will then apply for welfare to pay for this assault. Should be good for a press-conference on where your tax-dollars are going.

[stoneinfocus]

Well it´ll show clearly o the paper, that drugs are the cause, for the afro-american, or puerto rico american pupil, that they fail, and not because of socio-cultural problems.

[big-lester]

Why? If I want to take something that kills me very slowly and very painfully then goddamit let me. We should march and prevail, with the drug as banner, with the psychedelic as religion, with concious as target and control as the tool we use to get there.
Come on y'all and we will crush the nonbelivers.............

why should I even care................

[AquafinaOrbit]

My thought is if you are not effecting others then they should not try and control you. Sure drug users may be less contribution to society but that is no reason to randomly test every kid and invade their after school privacy. Honestly, it really annoys me schools think they have a say in what you do outside their walls.

[EarlGrayUK]

I'm all for random and compulsory drug testing - in parliaments.

[~lostgurl~]

And what about false positives. Little Jimmy misses half a season playing rugby because he tested positive for a drug he didn't take?

My gurl recently had 2 urinary drug tests come back false, they were tests she took voluntarily for court. The first came back clean of everything when it should have come back positive for banzos which she is prescribed and takes daily. The second test came back positive for benzos, cannibas and opiates. It had been years since she last used cannabis and many months since her last use of opiates. In the end she had to go to trial with no drug tests showing she was clean.

So what is the point if they are so unreliable, and a retest is no better.

The government is saying the reasoning behind the tests is the increased use of methamphetamine in schools, but surveys show very few school age students have even tried methamphetamine and most who have tried it have only used it the one time.

Being that most drugs leave the body relatively quickly, random drug tests in schools will for the most part only catch out marijuana users due to its lengthy stay in ones body. And I'm sure they wont be testing for alcohol which is not only illegal for minors but is also proven to be much more destructive than marijuana.

If it is really the health of the children that they are looking out for, then I think they should start by tackling the obesity epidemic and put this funding into providing healthy but tasty meals in schools and teaching children how to eat healthy and how to cook healthy.

At the end of the day, it will still be up to the individual to decide what they want to put in their bodies, whether it be food, drink or drugs. Leave the testing to the parents if they so wish. Schools are there to educate not to spy and hand out their own punishments.

[EarlGrayUK]

Laws and politics have long ceased to be based on logic, justice and needs. Now it's just lobbyism, media attention and fear. To really fight obesity they would need to fight the sugar industry and that won't happen (see miracle berry, stevia etc). On the other hand, the combination of "protecting children" and "war against drugs" in one topic is almost genius as far as PR is concerned. Who cares if it works then?

[Mr. Giraffe]

This was actually an election issue in Ireland at the last election. Thankfully, the morons proposing it lost out in favour of our corrupt, but beloved, former leader Mr. Ahern. Mr. Ahern was been too busy after his re-election trying to lie his way out of a corruption tribunal that he wqasn't really bothered with anything else, even to the point where he moved his moron brother from the drugs portfolio and put a semi-intelligent (as these things go) politician in his stead.

Thankfully, we don't have drug testing in our schools - yet. But we get our anti-drug flurries from time to time, so one never knows, but it was reassuring to see that many people saw the proposal for the idiotic macho nonsense that it is.

PS: I feel real sorry for our friend Bongo down the piss shack. My paranoid goldfish sees the future of society through the stream of Bongo's piss.

[stoneinfocus]

I´m against school, thesedays, as they´re not teaching and just the the organ of a dictature. Teachers, obligated to state loyalty, where it is the case here, are no teachers but wards.