Hair testing for drugs begins in three schools this week

[neversickanymore]

Hair testing for drugs begins in three schools this week
Monica Robins 6:52 p.m. EDT August 18, 2014

Losing a chunk of hair will be a reality to determine if a student has used drugs in the last 100 days.

This week some local private schools will begin drug testing their returning students.

Senior Health Correspondent Monica Robins brought us this story earlier this year and now explains why and how the program will work.

For some, drug testing kids is a controversial issue. But several schools in Northeast Ohio have adopted the practice..

Now that school is getting back into session, St. Edward's, St. Ignatius and Gilmour Academy will be testing their students..

Losing a chunk of hair will be a reality to determine if a student has used drugs in the last 100 days.

They were told about the program at the end of school last year and, if they had been using, they had the summer to get clean.

Some consider it an invasion of privacy but private schools have the ability to make it policy and cover the $40 per test cost.

School officials says it's about keeping kids safe and it's hard to argue against that.

If a student tests positive, the information is known only to the parents and a counselor. There is no punishment for a positive test.


continued http://www.wkyc.com/story/news/loca...s-begins-in-three-schools-this-week/14258121/

 

[ro4eva]

Is this really the correct way to go about this?

I understand that teen brains are apparently more vulnerable to drug-induced changes or damage, as they are still developing.

That being said, if someone is desperate enough, they will use their drug of choice regardless of the possible consequences. There is no ifs or buts - drug use is always going to occur.

Sadly, these students may take a huge risk in attempting to avoid detection by way of consuming very toxic, potentially deadly research chemicals designed to mimic a popular drug such as MDMA, LSD, or Δ-9-THC.

So in the end, these schools may end up with several cases of students dying from mysterious drug overdoses.

The chemists who cook this shit up won't shed a tear, and will continue to spread their knock off products if there's money to be made (usually there is a lot of demand), and they can always tweak their toxic cocktails to suit their needs, which is usually related to avoiding having their crap considered to be illegal - at least until it kills dozens of teens and/or adults, after which they repeat the process.

This is yet another unintended consequence of the war on drugs, and another reason why the war on drugs is so much more destructive than the original drugs themselves ever were, or will be.

In other words - Yes, recreational drug use may be especially damaging to the developing brains of teenagers, but does that really mean much if they end up dead anyways due to a desperation on their part to consume a mind altering substance without being caught?

As a parent, I would be extremely concerned about my child becoming a statistic due to poorly thought policies such as this one appears to be. And after such news, I would immediately remove him such a school.

These quick-fix solutions which America is (in)famous for have historically backfired miserably, and I don't imagine that will change anytime soon. But many similar warnings regarding such issues usually fall on deaf ears, which is frustrating once it becomes evident that those in a position to directly influence the decision(s) should have listened.

Not that I wish for it to happen, but my condolences to whomever ends up with a dead son or daughter due to this decision by the schools to test their students. Until these knuckleheads wake up and change their strategy, I'm afraid these avoidable incidents which end up in tragedy for some very unfortunate families will continue to occur