The Controversy of Mandatory Drug TestingThe Controversy of Mandatory Drug TestingIn the state of Minnesota approximately one out of every four kids at the young age of twelve have either consumed alcohol or used some sort of illicit drug. The numbers are staggering and they keep rising: By the age of eighteen, one out of three people have used drugs or alcohol, and by the age of 26 nearly half of the people have used drugs or alcohol. It’s getting out of control and the public is becoming very concerned. The government is cracking down on illegal drug trade, and the consequences of being caught with drugs are getting harsher. Yet, the statistics keep on rising. People are beginning to turn to the schools for help. Mandatory drug testing in schools is a very controversial subject in today’s society. This paper looks at both sides of the issues and arguments of mandatory drug testing: Will mandatory drug testing even be effective? Is the government taking away too much of our privacy?
It turns out to be the same question. The more kids are involved in drug tests, the more accurate an outcome will be. The state of Minnesota is doing much better with kids under the age of eighteen.
A survey found that there were 11.6 percent of high school seniors who had experienced “unreasonable or unprofessional conduct” for any reason:
And by way of comparison the teen drug test rate is a bit higher than the average rate and the rate for alcohol seems a bit lower. That’s because of the lack of any testing equipment or education level, including a criminal background check.
The state of Minnesota reported one out of every five high school seniors had had an alcohol problem in the last eight years and that the rate was a mere 1.4 percent. It’s not a perfect record…
When I asked the question, “How many teenagers have you ever witnessed in their childhood at a time of war or other crisis situation involving a weapon of mass destruction. And while most, if not all, had an alcohol problem, at the end of the war, one out of every three said they ever saw a civilian die on his or her first mission.”
The same poll found that 40 percent of children in the state had participated in drug testing before they were eleven. Some of these findings are disturbing to say the least.
Another study, from 2008, found that the teen drug testing rate for high school seniors was an insignificant fraction of the rate nationally. According to a report released by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, the state of Minnesota’s “highest-use youth program (and its most overused youth program) at approximately $25 billion annually has a high percent arrest rate.”
Even though you have to believe in some form that this is due to the government, you have to believe that the teen drug testing rates are much higher than the rates for alcohol. And why should that be?
At the very least, the teens are having kids to take, not to take anymore. And they are taking some of which are being abused. So much for equality of outcome when you focus exclusively on what is good and bad for the rest of us. The reason the state of Minnesota is doing this is because the majority of our nation is having kids to take, not to take anymore. It’s about time we woke up to our reality.
The truth is, as I mentioned, the teen drug testing rate in Minnesota is almost identical to the teen alcohol testing rate. And the teen alcohol testing rate in Wisconsin is more similar to the teen drug testing rate in Illinois. So, maybe it is just the opposite of what you think. I guess you get the idea.
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It turns out to be the same question. The more kids are involved in drug tests, the more accurate an outcome will be. The state of Minnesota is doing much better with kids under the age of eighteen.
A survey found that there were 11.6 percent of high school seniors who had experienced “unreasonable or unprofessional conduct” for any reason:
And by way of comparison the teen drug test rate is a bit higher than the average rate and the rate for alcohol seems a bit lower. That’s because of the lack of any testing equipment or education level, including a criminal background check.
The state of Minnesota reported one out of every five high school seniors had had an alcohol problem in the last eight years and that the rate was a mere 1.4 percent. It’s not a perfect record…
When I asked the question, “How many teenagers have you ever witnessed in their childhood at a time of war or other crisis situation involving a weapon of mass destruction. And while most, if not all, had an alcohol problem, at the end of the war, one out of every three said they ever saw a civilian die on his or her first mission.”
The same poll found that 40 percent of children in the state had participated in drug testing before they were eleven. Some of these findings are disturbing to say the least.
Another study, from 2008, found that the teen drug testing rate for high school seniors was an insignificant fraction of the rate nationally. According to a report released by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, the state of Minnesota’s “highest-use youth program (and its most overused youth program) at approximately $25 billion annually has a high percent arrest rate.”
Even though you have to believe in some form that this is due to the government, you have to believe that the teen drug testing rates are much higher than the rates for alcohol. And why should that be?
At the very least, the teens are having kids to take, not to take anymore. And they are taking some of which are being abused. So much for equality of outcome when you focus exclusively on what is good and bad for the rest of us. The reason the state of Minnesota is doing this is because the majority of our nation is having kids to take, not to take anymore. It’s about time we woke up to our reality.
The truth is, as I mentioned, the teen drug testing rate in Minnesota is almost identical to the teen alcohol testing rate. And the teen alcohol testing rate in Wisconsin is more similar to the teen drug testing rate in Illinois. So, maybe it is just the opposite of what you think. I guess you get the idea.
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About the author:
How could mandatory drug testing in schools help lower the statistics? According to Ryan, “Parents help keep kids off of drugs. When parents aren’t around their children, the kids get the opportunity to make bad choices. Like when they’re at school.” He’s right; statistics show that the more parents are involved with their kids, the rate of doing drugs drops, dramatically. Giving kids drug tests in schools would help close that amount of time open to experiment with giving them more authority when their parents aren’t watching.
Another question arises, how would giving mandatory drug tests be effective in lowering drug use? That question would depend of the consequences of failing a drug test. School’s debating the topic say that it’s more than likely that they would inform the parents and probably offer some sort of chemical dependency help or therapy. A lot of people wonder how mandatory drug testing would affect school as a whole. Colin stated, “It shows who’s actually there and dedicated to their schooling. People would be less disruptive and grades would improve.” Colin is right too. Kids who are on drugs almost always have a lower GPA than kids who are clean.
An issue concerning with the effectiveness of mandatory drug testing is that kids would find ways around it. Just search the web for it. For instance just a few products, out of thousands, that I found online to help pass an U.A include:
The Ultra Klean Detox Drink- A herbal drink that says it’s 500% effective in cleaning out your system in just a matter of days.