Drug Testing In High Schools
Matt, a high school football player, was scheduled to play linebacker in a Friday night game, but a few days before Matt was hanging out at his buddies and started smoking marijuana. Thursday, before the game, Matt was chosen to take a drug test. His coach approached him saying Matt could not play because the test proved that he had marijuana in his system - a depressant that the school had banned. Families, friends, and fans were unaware the school had permission to suspend student athletes from athletics for taking illegal drugs. Should drug testing be allowed in school athletic programs? Who should be tested - athletes, clubs, band members, or every student? Some people think that drug-testing programs is the answer for those who are drug users. Drug-testing is a controversial matter because it is intrusive; it in fringes on an individual's right to privacy, and raises a host of legal technical and ethnical matters. It also creates a sense of suspicion and the lack of trust between school staff and student. While others fear that drug programs are an invasion of a persons' privacy and results in punishment. Drug testing in high school sports should be allowed because it is designed to help detect and prevent drug use. High schools should have the right to administer drug tests to student athletes. Students are under the care of the school, making the school responsible for everything that occurs on campus. The usage of drugs by a student or group of students creates an issue of safety. According to Lawler, "Supporters of drug-testing in schools argue that athletes are under the protection of the schools when they are there"(27). All schools have the responsibility to control and supervise athletes to prevent or stop drug use. The reason for schools to have a drug test policy is to create a safe, drug free environment for student athletes and the entire student body. Aransas Pass Independent School District (APISD) adopted an...
View Full Essay
