Drug Testing Persuasive Essay

During the 2016 Rio Olympics, numerous athletes were sent home, disqualified, or even had their medals stripped of them after failing the required drug test which allows them to compete and to continue competing. Athletes who compete for national teams such as the NFL, NBA, and NHL, are all subject to drug testing and can have major consequences for failing a test. Drug testing has fallen down the athletic levels from college athletes, and to high school athletes. It became legal for public schools to require students who participate in athletics or extracurricular activities, to consent to random drug testing after a student of Vernonia high school, James Acton, believed his right to privacy was being violated, and fought Vernonia in 1995.
Athletes of all ages have been denied participation in a variety of sports and levels of play for use of performance-enhancing drugs, illegal …show more content…
Acton (1995), in 2002 the “ruling was expanded to include students who participate in a competitive extracurricular activity” and could expand as far as testing students who drive to school (John). The reasoning behind a school wanting to perform drug testing can be quite vague with schools “[taking] the liberty of implementing school-wide testing” (John). According to results from a study on Adolescent Health, schools use the procedure of drug testing to prevent and reduce substance abuse among youth (Terry Mc-Elrath). Coaches and administrators in the school setting cannot punish the students who test positive, but instead they can help these kids to see the damage that these drugs can do to their bodies, their future in sports, and academically. The issue with school wide drug testing could cause students to no longer participate in extracurricular activities to avoid testing. Vernonia wants to ensure that they “are fulfilling their duty in promoting a safe and drug free environment” out on the field and throughout the classroom