RANDOM DRUG TESTS DON'T REDUCE TEEN DRUG ABUSE

More than half of our kids use an illegal substance before they graduate
from high school.

If children are subjected to random drug testing, goes the logic, testing
might stop their drug use, or at least serve as a red flag to their parents
who can then turn the kids around.

But random drug testing doesn't work in the way that its advocates hope it
will. Random drug tests do not answer the critical questions of how much,
or even what, a kid has been taking, or how often.

Testing does not discriminate between kids who experiment and kids who are
seriously involved with drugs.

Testing can be inaccurate. A crafty child can sabotage it. Testing ignores
the most medically devastating drugs, tobacco and alcohol. But most
instructive of all, scientific data show that random drug testing does not
reduce drug use. A 2003 survey of 722 secondary American schools involving
76,000 students by the University of Michigan found virtually identical
rates of drug use in schools that have drug testing and schools that do not.

The problem with random testing is that not all of our kids use drugs, and
even the ones who are at greatest danger are in the minority.

So should we treat all kids as guilty until proven innocent?

As a physician who has drug tested patients thousands of times, my response
is simple: no tests without reasonable suspicion.

People who work with addicts know there are perfectly good reasons for drug
testing. Testing helps guide them when an addict is detoxing, or has just
taken an overdose.

Drug testing tells you important things when the patient can't. Drug
testing can be an aid in working with addicts as they flirt with relapse.

In a word, drug testing is a terrific clinical tool. And if you have reason
to believe a child is in trouble with drugs, drug testing may be helpful
for that particular child.

The trick with drug testing children is to balance the desire to keep our
children safe on the one hand, and protect their rights of privacy and
freedom from illegal searches on the other.

Remember, children have rights, too.

In 2002, the Supreme Court heard the case brought by high school student
Lindsay Earls against her board of education.

As a member of the Tecumseh High School marching band, she was required to
submit to random urine checks. Earls knew she was drug free and defended
her privacy.

She correctly felt that being in a marching band did not automatically put
her at risk for drugs.

The National Education Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics
supported her case.

But in a 5 to 4 decision, the court ruled against the high school student.
Writing for the majority, Justice Clarence Thomas argued that schools have
a greater interest in protecting children than maintaining their privacy.
The four dissenting justices called the drug test program "capricious, even
perverse." The dissenters further noted that the Tecumseh drug testing
policy invaded the privacy of students who need deterrence the least, kids
motivated to take part in extracurricular activities, while keeping kids at
risk away from activities that might actually keep them off of drugs.

Despite the Earls case, there has been no stampede by schools to drug test
our kids. One optimistically thinks that common sense may be loose in the
land. Variations on drug testing have been proposed, such as having parents
"register" their children for random testing in schools.

Results would go to the parents, and parents would be educated regarding
treatment options.

We're on the right track, but the solution is really far simpler than most
people would believe.

A clean kid does not need to be drug tested.

A kid involved in drugs usually doesn't either, since a parent can usually
see the red flags of drug abuse if they just take a close look. So is there
a place for drug testing our kids? Sure, when a parent has suspicion of
drug use, or when a kid has something to prove.

Otherwise, the best drug test I know is the hug-and-sniff when they walk
through the front door, with a heart to heart for an eye-opener the
following morning.

The strongest weapon we have to combat drug use in our children is not the
chemistry lab, but heads-up parenting.