Does drug testing actually deter student drug use?
Why do schools test kids for drugs? Presumably, it is because school decision makers believe that testing will deter students drug use. And, if they have a choice about how they will use the money, they must also believe that drug testing is the best use of that money. “It gives them a reason to say ‘no.’” That’s an intuitive argument, especially if testing positive earns a student suspension from school privileges, or even just a call to their parents. And intuition is the historical source of much of prevention. But today, substance abuse prevention has moved into the realm of science. Over time, scientific research has shown that some intuitively sensible prevention tactics do not deter drug use: scare tactics, celebrity speakers, values clarification, and “just say no,” for example. Other intuitively sensible tactics, like giving kids information about drugs, have been shown not to work alone. Prevention programs and strategies that have been shown to work do not use these disprove
