Should Schools Have Mandatory Drug Testing For Athletes?

Mandatory Drug testing within schools reverses the legal principle of innocent until proven guilty and also violates the Fourth and Fifth Amendments of the Constitution. Without suspicion of drug use, there is no probable cause to test student-athletes for drugs, thus violating the Fourth Amendment right to be free from unlawful searches. Drug testing student-athletes without acquiring sufficient evidence to base accusations on, is essentially asking them to provide the evidence of their own guilt which violates the Fifth Amendment right to protect

In 1995 the Supreme Court stated that schools could randomly drug test their athletic students. By 2008, 16 percent of school districts had started to take on some kind of drug testing program (John 2). Even though the Supreme Court has a certain amount of ruling on who is tested at the schools, some schools have expanded their range of students, a few going all the way to the whole student body (John 2/3). One of the main reasons the supreme court ruled towards testing the student athletes is because they are supposed to be seen as the role models and influencers of the school, and outside the school. Seeing athletes doing drugs might increase the drug use of the school. (John 3). Student

In recent years the number of athletes caught using drugs has increased dramatically. The use of a illegal or unprescribed drugs can cause serious problems and unfairness in many ways. Certain drugs can cause harm to the user and the people around the user, most student athletes do not even know what they are putting into their bodies. With all the risks many persons propose student athletes to be drug tested at random.

student choosing the drug over the sport they now have nothing but all the time

Drug testing allows for early detection and intervention Students have a built-in reason to resist peer pressure, a well-known reason why kids experiment with drugs Schools are fulfilling their duty in promoting a safe and drug free environment increases chances for students to have a successful future. I agree with this because you should test and stop kids before it’s too late in life and now they are addicted to something forever. I also believe that many kids take gateway drugs while they are minors and the younger they are the worse the drugs they would eventually take in the future are gonna be worse.

The amount of homicides have increased by 7.4 percent in the past few year all of them were drug related. Drug testing High school athletes is a good idea because it has the kids pick a priority in life. It also teaches them responsibility and the consequences

Professional and college athletes are required to take a drug test at random periods during their season in order to determine if anyone has been using performance enhancing drugs. Recently, public high schools have been suggesting the idea that high school athletes should also be required to participate in drug tests regularly. Many of the high school athletes hearing about this are upset about the proposition, but the decision is up to the state governments.

In many high schools around the country, student athletes are using drugs. “The percent of students that have drunk alcohol is 72.5% while the number of students who have used marijuana is 36.8%” (Report: Nearly Half of High School Students Using Drugs, Alcohol). The students believe that since they are athletes that they do not need to abide by the rules because they feel more superior and that the narcotic will not hurt or affect them. Implementing random drug tests for athletes will create a positive image and not hurt others or themselves. Schools need to have drug tests for student athletes because drugs effect relationships, using drugs have consequences, and lastly they have a major effect on the body.

Another issue of drug testing student athletes is that it is also known to be ineffective. Drug testing will not point out students who are facing drug abuse and will not be able to help them. Studies found no difference between drug use in schools with and without testing. “A 2003 study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse – the largest of its kind – examined 94,000 students at 900 schools in the U.S. and found no difference between levels of drug use at schools that test their students and those that do not,” (Cosner). Drug use will still be existent in high schools. Studies conclude that drug use in schools that use testing and those that don’t. In fact, students may stop using drugs easy to detect like marijuana, and start using cocaine, heroin, and drugs similar to those. Students who really enjoy getting involved in sports, but have a strong attraction to drugs, may end up using harder drugs so they won’t get caught. As discussed in the article on The New York Times webpage,

Do you think all kids should be drug tested? If kids are drug tested it would make a better economy and they will stops kids from using drugs because this is the time where most kids are deciding if they want to do drugs or don’t. If all middles schools have a drug test then almost all of them will know n0t to do drugs because if they get caught then they will be in very big trouble, If kids are tested early then they won’t sell drugs either because if they got caught they would get suspended or expelled.. And then they wouldn’t be able to go anywhere in life. Testing kids at a young age would help them because they would make better choices.

Mandatory drug testing for high school athletes should be required because it decreases drug use in schools. By having mandatory drug testing in schools the risk for youth becoming “addicted” to drugs is lowered. The risk for drugs within a school is lowered when there is mandatory drug testing for athletes because most drug problems within a school start with steroid use within certain sports in a high school. Steroids are used to help

With high school budgets dropping, and more athletes joining the sports teams the possibility of drug testing every athlete becomes less likely daily. School’s budgets cannot afford to test every student athlete. With prices rising and budgets dropping, the 100,000-dollar price tag to test 600 Florida high school students doesn’t look too appealing to the schools budget, which is why the program fell through shortly after. Also, in 2007, high schools in Texas performed more than 10,000 drug tests on student athletes but the program shrunk to thirty-three percent of its original size (“How Effective”). Knowing that the worth of a single dollar is plummeting and prices at an all-time high, is drug testing our student athletes necessary? To just test 600 students (the size of some senior classes) in Florida is roughly 100,000-dollars. Seeing schools waste money like that on unproven programs with limited results is shameful. Drug testing students in mass quantities or even testing at all is costing high schools a pretty penny and all drug testing programs are failing because of lack of funding. To get more in depth, to break down each individual testing price can cost schools a fortune. Now know, the cost of a single test can range between 15-35 dollars, which could lead to tens of thousands annually. Over an eight-year period Texas high schools spent an estimated 10 million dollars on urine tests for student athletes

There is a problem of high school athletes doping during sport competitions.This is where drug testing comes into play.In my opinion,I think that high school students should be drug tested.The unfair advantage to other competitors is unconstitutional,meaning it's not the right thing to do.The drugs that are used are steroids and HGH,a human growth hormone.These bad drugs are being used for the teenagers' purposes,instead of being used as a good drug.

However from the point of view of a teacher, parent or whoever is for the testing, it is done to protect the students. Many children or young adults that experiment with drugs do not understand what the drugs can do to their minds and bodies. With the testing schools will be able to determine which students need help and can better focus on treatment, and helping the student to understand the consequences of their actions not necessarily disciplinary but on the issue of health. As far as helping the students goes it is much easier to teach the students about drugs when it is known which students are doing them or have tried them. Time will not have to be wasted by explaining, "why drugs should not be taken" to a student that is taking them wile they could focus on treatment to deter the student from taking them.

Bringing up the topic of drugs is not unfamiliar to us. Around the country we have been taught what is right and what is wrong. 75% of schools in the US are familiar with the D.A.R.E program, and 48 countries have introduced it. We have been listening to police officers since we entered kindergarten. Almost all schools have students that have experience with drugs , even if it is only between a few students drugs are out there. Many people do not know this, which they should, but alcohol is considered a drug. Definition of a drug is simply a substance that can be absorbed into a living organism and will alter the organisms judgment and functions. If alcohol is considered a drug there can even be a bigger drug problem. Students do not realize how dangerous drugs actually are, statistics show that 60% of seniors do not believe that marijuana is harmful. Students need to be informed what marijuana can lead to. Smoking the drug can lead to lung cancer just like cigarettes. Schools have not faced the facts and realize drugs are a problem, only 14% of schools in America have committed to random drug tests in school. They need to step up and start helping the students within their school who are in need of help. Random drug testing in schools need to become mandatory because drugs in school are now not just becoming a problem to a few students, it is affecting even the students already heading in a good path for the future and by doing so it will eliminate drug use between students