The sustained campaign for a drug free America is taking a new turn these days. After the invasion of drug testing into the workplace, now it is time for testing to expand into schools. Student drug testing is expected to reduce the tendency of teenagers to start abusing drugs and aims at nipping the problem at the bud with an emphasis on prevention.



First of all, student drug testing aims at preventing adolescents from being initiated into drug abuse. The possibility of being detected in a student drug testing campaign is expected to be deterrent strong enough to convince them to abstain from succumbing to peer pressure and using drugs. Student drug testing will also identify drug abusers in their adolescence and let their counselors and parents intervene very early to help the student recover from the habit before it is too late. The students who have already developed a dependence on drugs could be easily detected and referred for treatment or rehabilitation programs.

It would be very helpful if a person is found and helped during the initial stages of his addiction since the possibility of his recovery decreases with his dependency on the drug. Most people start experimenting with drugs when they are in school. Although this is considered natural and safe as long as they don't slip into an addiction, these innocent experiments have the inclination to transform into accidents, violent incidents or overdose. Student drug testing aims to discourage experimentation among the students to reduce the risk.

It is common to neglect the amount of drug abuse happening among students by ignoring the facts. Most people don't understand the impact that student drug testing could make because they do not comprehend the extent of the problem that we are trying to solve. At least 50% of 12th graders are found to have used drugs once in their life and 10% admit to using Marijuana on a monthly basis.

For a school to start off on implementing a student drug testing program, first it needs to analyze the requirement it. It needs to figure out the level of drug abuse in the community as a whole and within the students of that school. Small surveys could be conducted among the students and their parents to judge the level of need for such a program. If the need for drug testing is clear, then the school needs to find funding for the project. A lot of schools are already availing themselves of funding from the Department of Education for student drug testing as a part of the Safe and Drug Free Schools Program.

A student drug testing program alone cannot play the whole game. Detection of impaired individuals should go hand in hand with intervention and treatment programs. An individual detected to be abusing drugs through a student drug testing program should undergo intervention by his parents, teachers and counselors enabling him to return to a normal socially productive life. Without this we stand to lose all benefits of the student drug testing programs.

Once a program for student drug testing has been formulated and implemented, it will act as a deterrent against drug abuse for youngsters in the country. When we separate the young and impressionable from initiation into drug abuse, what we achieve is a new generation that is clean from the effects of drugs. There has never been a better investment in the future.