Pissing Contest

The ACLU and the Drug Policy Alliance have produced a timely report on student drug testing that serves as a rejoinder to President Bush's enthusiasm for examining kids' bodily fluids. Among other things, it notes that

the first large-scale national study on student drug testing found no difference in rates of drug use between schools that have drug testing programs and those that do not. Based on data collected between 1998 and 2001 from 76,000 students nationwide in 8th, 10th, and 12th grades, the study found that drug testing did not have an impact on illicit drug use among students, including athletes.

Dr. Lloyd D. Johnston, an author of the study, directs Monitoring the Future, the leading survey by the federal government of trends in student drug use and attitudes about drugs. According to Dr. Johnston, "[The study] suggests that there really isn't an impact from drug testing as practiced…I don't think it brings
about any constructive changes in their attitudes about drugs or their belief in the dangers associated with using them."

In his State of the Union speech, you may recall, Bush claimed that "drug testing in our schools has proven to be an effective part" of "our aggressive community-based strategy to reduce demand for illegal drugs." Just like DARE.