Zenon Evans: Connections, Hype Lurk in School Drug Testing

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Universal Studios

Every single student at three high schools in Cleveland, Ohio—about 2,770 teenagers in total—will be subject to hair follicle drug testing when they return to the classroom this fall, courtesy of Psychemedics Corp. Administrators from the schools made the announcement this week, insisting that their primary concern is the welfare of students at these private, Catholic schools. However, writes Zenon Evans, this claim warrants some scrutiny, since it's backed up by weak evidence, the testing puts kids at new risks, and the principal of one of the schools happens to be the brother of Psychemedics' CEO.