Mandatory Drug Testing for All Students
Drug testing for marijuana should be used in all schools for all students. At my school I see all the effects marijuana has on a student and wish there was a way for something could be done about it. Currently drug testing is only used with students who participate in extra-curricular activities, mostly sports, which only helps if the student decides to participate. Most people that use marijuana know this so they stay away from any activity that could test them. Drug testing of all students, for marijuana, instead of just students in activities should be implemented because it will help stop drug use before strong addiction, the use marijuana has negative effects on the body, and marijuana negatively
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On the aircraft carrier Nimitz there was an accident involving drug use by an active duty member. In 1982 the Navy officially started drug testing all active duty personnel. A few years later, in the late 1980’s, the Federal Government started testing workers in jobs that could affect safety of themselves or others. In 1995 drug testing expanded to schools as a drug prevention program. In 1995 there was a Supreme Court case, Acton v. Vernonia School District, where a 12-year-old Oregon boy went to court saying that a mandatory drug test violated his Fourth Amendment rights. (source summary 2). The Fourth Amendment to the constitution gives people the rights to feel safe against unreasonable searches and seizures and requires a warrant to be given by a judge with probable cause. There have been four other court cases involving drug testing and Fourth Amendment rights, with Acton v Vernonia being the first case to challenge the testing being used in schools. In each case the Supreme Court ruled in favor, saying that drug testing is completely legal. In one case, Board of Education of Independent School District No. 92 of Pottawatomie County v. Earls, the court stated that “school district’s drug testing program was a “reasonable means” of preventing and deterring student drug use and did not violate the Fourth Amendment. (source summary …show more content…
No matter how marijuana gets into your system, every organ of the body is affected. Teenage brains are still developing, making them more susceptible to the effects marijuana can have on them. Detecting short term drug use (only on occasion) can prevent a student from anxiety, lowered reaction times, increased heartbeats and panic, but detecting long term drug use early can save a student from lung problems, brain injuries, issues in school, and mood changes. (source 1 effects on the body). Marijuana makes your heart beat twice as fast for up to 3 hours, which can result in a heart attack. The mind is also highly affected by marijuana. Anxiety, depression, and distorted thinking are among the main effect. Combining the anxiety marijuana causes with the anxiety of school can really put stress onto a student, even though many think it is an anxiety and stress reliever they might actually be adding
Smoking of marijuana can cause the person to become addicted to cocaine, heroin, and other drugs. Heavy or daily use effects the parts that control memory, attention, and learning (Facts for Teens, 13). When teens are 12 and 13 they are more exposed to drugs and most likely don’t listen to their parents (Age in Stem., 1). Some other psychological side effects would be paranoia, anxiety, fatigue, Euphoria, and mood swings (Fact Sheet, 1). Studies have shown that when a person uses marijuana it causes the heart to beat faster and work harder (Fact Sheet, 2). When people have smoked large measures of marijuana for years, the drugs takes its charge on mental functions (Facts for Teens, 13).
The Supreme Court decided “Yes. In a 5-4 opinion delivered by Justice Clarence Thomas, the Court held that, because the policy reasonably serves the School District’s important interest in detecting and preventing drug use among its students, it is constitutional. The Court reasoned that the Board of Education’s general regulation of extracurricular activities diminished the expectation of privacy among students and that the Board’s method of obtaining urine samples and maintaining test results was minimally intrusive on the students’ limited privacy interests.” (www.oyez.org/cases/2000-20009/2001_01_332). A drug test invades U.S citizen’s privacy, and prevents people from going to after school activities. If one of the students at Earl’s school was sick, they would need to take prescription drugs to help them get better. If they have urine samples, they could not participate in after school activities. This means that the school has no right to see if their students are doing drugs or not. The school did not have a permit, so Earl’s 4th amendment was violated twice. Even though that the Supreme Court decision was against Earls, many people believe that the ruling violated his 4th amendment because the tests could prevent Earls from going to after school activities because if he is sick, he needs to take medicine.Therefore, the drug tests were supposed to violate
Still in debate, the Supreme Court has yet to decided whether drug testing would interfere with the Fourth Amendment in such a way that it would restrict rights. Several individuals and states wish that the Court would rule in the drug testing favor, but from cases in the past, the chances are slim. The reason being that, unless they make it and requirement, random drug testing for the use of welfare is considered an unreasonable search.
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
The research policy that will be discussed in this paper is on the issues of mandatory drug screening in shelters. Emergency shelters are opening up their doors to the admission of any individual or family that shows up at shelters by offering nutritious meals and a warm safe place to sleep away from the dangers that lurks the streets. The emergency shelters offer residents a temporary residence for those who are homeless, disaster relief victims or fleeing from domestic violence. Women Against Abuse (WAA) is an organization that serves a diverse population and does not discriminate against anyone. There are no standards that would turn a woman away from seeking shelter from their abusive partner (Women Against Abuse, 2015).
According to Essex(2012), drug testing students would be in violation of the fourth amendment and would be difficult to justify because the students are protected under their privacy protection rights.As discussed in the text it was decided in the year 2002 during the case of Board of Education V. Earls when the supreme court had ruled that students who are participating in extracurricular activities must undergo a mandatory drug screenings and it became constitutional (Essex, 2012,p.35).
Recent Supreme Court decisions support the argument that certain occupations are so important to public safety and national security that a warrant or individualized suspicion is not necessary to make testing reasonable under the Fourth Amendment.
Secondly, even when telling the students that the drug test is approaching, it does not decrease the usage of drugs. In those high schools that tested athletes, between the drug test surveys given to students by University of Michigan research investigators, there was roughly a 94 percent agreeance between the students at both of the schools that implement drug testing policies and those who do not, that they had been using drugs within the last year (Swanbrow). Furthermore, the test do not deter students from taking other drugs that will not show up on the test. The University of Michigan research investigators even surveyed experienced marijuana users and asked how the drug test would impact their usage of it and other drugs. The students essentially said that even when knowing the test was coming they were still going to take the drugs and still manage to pass the test by using others urine for example. The data from students surveyed from drug testing and non-drug testing schools stated that their usage of drugs was almost exactly the same, roughly a six percent difference between the two. Therefore, the drug testing programs
Drug testing in schools is a very controversial issue with strong opponents and proponents. The controversy comes down to legality, safety, and privacy, with both sides of the argument having different perspectives on each. Drug testing for schools is a fairly recent development in the educational system, supposedly aimed at fighting an evolving drug problem in the United States.
It can do lasting harm to the still-developing adolescent brain, disrupting normal development of the white matter that brain cells need to communicate with each other, thus hampering the user’s ability to reason. Most recently, researchers have found marijuana responsible for long-term changes in “working memory,” the brain structures critical to the ready recall of basic information, like telephone numbers, and to the solutions of everyday problems. It is likely that most teens will try smoking marijuana at some point in their adolescent years. If they are cautious and marijuana use does not become habitual, parents are unlikely to become aware of it. You will notice short-term side effects for about an hour of smoking marijuana. Some of the most common ones include dry mouth, red eyes, psychosis, fatigue, dizziness and increased heart rate. Studies show that marijuana can affect a specific region of the brain that is responsible for fear. It is common for people to feel paranoid and anxious after smoking weed. Some people even get panic attacks and have bouts of anxiety after using cannabis. Several studies suggest that pot smoking may affect your cognitive function in a negative way. The effect on short-term memory is quite noticeable, but marijuana affects long-term memory as well. Besides, some studies suggest that marijuana use decreases IQ level. More evidence is needed to confirm this though. Marijuana smoke contains 50% to 70% more cancer-causing substances than tobacco smoke. One major research study reported that a single cannabis joint could cause as much damage to the lungs as up to five regular cigarettes smoked one after another. Long-time joint smokers often suffer from bronchitis, an inflammation of the respiratory tract. The drug can affect more than your physical health. Studies in Australia in 2008 linked years of heavy marijuana use to brain abnormalities.
There are many reasons why the school must have drug testing. A student must submit a urine that should be used for detection.(Mo/2011/par.1). The school must have a mission that there should be no drug users in the campus. Everyone must succeed in life. One reason is to preparethe studentsfor profitable employment. They are schools which have advisory councils that are made up of businesses taht would be potential businesses to hire the students that support their expertise. Through this, the school is moving forward toward its mission. If someone is tested positive, there should be no punishment. They have to meet with a counselor and they can participate in an activity which can help in avoiding drug abuse and
Many high schools across the country have brought much attention to the idea of giving random drug tests to students in high school. The newfound interest in student drug testing may be as a result of recent polls, which have shown an increase in drug use among high school students. Many teachers, parents, and members of school comities are for the drug testing, while most students and some parents feel that this would be a violation of students rights as Americans, which is true.
Is mandatory drug testing for organizations an invasion of privacy for citizens? A discussion surfaced around questioning whether mandatory drug testing in workplace is a privacy invasion or help improve safety. The implementation mandatory drug testing is vital and beneficial to the society.
Regardless of the healing abilities that Marijuana can produce it is believed that Marijuana, can also be linked to school failure. Marijuana can cause negative effects on memory, attention, and learning can last for days or weeks. A person who smokes Marijuana daily may have a dimmer brain then the normal person who doesn’t use any drugs. Teenagers who smoke Marijuana, tend to receive lower graders and also is more likely to drop out of high-school. Research shows that it can lower your IQ level if used a lot in your teen years. Research also indicate that longtime marijuana users report lower life satisfaction. It affects memory, relationships also affects a person mentally, physically, and your health is affected also. This can
The big controversy right now within the government and high schools is whether or not random drug testing should be legal in schools. There are many reasons why it should not be legalized, one reason being it goes against the fourth amendment. Why should we have testing in schools when many major health organizations oppose it? All it will do is make teens turn to other illegal and counterproductive things. These are many reasons why drug testing should not be allowed in high schools.