Why Drug Testing Student Athletes Isn’t Worth It
Is drug testing student athletes really necessary? Are the results of drug testing worth all of the time and money put into it? The simple fact is that drug use isn't that prevalent today among student athletes. The Illinois High School Association conducted 1,758 drug tests on student athletes in their state, and found that only two athletes tested positive and weren't cleared by medical waivers (Westerlund). There are also many variables that come with drug testing. These include, what kinds of tests to use, what to test for, and if the advantages of the test outweigh the expense. The fact is that drug testing student athletes has many drawbacks. Drug testing student athletes shouldn’t be required …show more content…
Some students know and are wary of certain techniques that are used to help them beat the drug tests. It can be as simple as drinking lots of water beforehand, or as complex as buying clean urine samples from the internet. This is important to know, because if drug tests aren’t able to actually identify the drug users than they are useless. Not only this, but some tests are simply inaccurate. Screenings aren't 100 percent accurate and any positive test should then be taken into a laboratory for a follow up test (Office of National….5). Drug screenings are not always accurate and in many cases If schools don't provide a follow up test the inaccurate screening could potentially target an innocent student as a drug addict. Beyond that, the extra test is just more time and money expended by the school. The inaccuracy and inability of certain drug tests to give true results makes them a liability to our schools and student …show more content…
Westerlund goes on to explain the reason that schools in the SVC conference in Illinois have not adopted a drug testing program, “Officials from St. Joe-Ogden, Watseka and Iroquois West said there have been some good discussions at their respective schools on implementing such a program, but costs are holding them back.” Westerlund is explaining that cost is the main factor for these schools in deciding to use the tests or not. For the decreasing amount of student athletes that are using drugs, I believe this cost would deter schools from starting drug testing programs. Cost is the biggest obstacle that schools have to face when deciding whether or not to implement something like a drug testing program, and the reality is that many institutions simply do not have the financial capability to start such a
Is drug testing student athletes really necessary? Are the results of drug testing worth all of the time and money put into it? The simple fact is that drug use isn't that prevalent today among student athletes. The Illinois High School Association conducted 1,758 drug tests on student athletes in their state, and found that only two athletes tested positive and weren't cleared by medical waivers (Westerlund). There are also many variables that come with drug testing. These include, what kinds of tests to use, what to test for, and if the advantages of the test outweigh the expense. The fact is that drug testing student athletes has many drawbacks. Drug testing student athletes shouldn’t be required …show more content…
Some students know and are wary of certain techniques that are used to help them beat the drug tests. It can be as simple as drinking lots of water beforehand, or as complex as buying clean urine samples from the internet. This is important to know, because if drug tests aren’t able to actually identify the drug users than they are useless. Not only this, but some tests are simply inaccurate. Screenings aren't 100 percent accurate and any positive test should then be taken into a laboratory for a follow up test (Office of National….5). Drug screenings are not always accurate and in many cases If schools don't provide a follow up test the inaccurate screening could potentially target an innocent student as a drug addict. Beyond that, the extra test is just more time and money expended by the school. The inaccuracy and inability of certain drug tests to give true results makes them a liability to our schools and student …show more content…
Westerlund goes on to explain the reason that schools in the SVC conference in Illinois have not adopted a drug testing program, “Officials from St. Joe-Ogden, Watseka and Iroquois West said there have been some good discussions at their respective schools on implementing such a program, but costs are holding them back.” Westerlund is explaining that cost is the main factor for these schools in deciding to use the tests or not. For the decreasing amount of student athletes that are using drugs, I believe this cost would deter schools from starting drug testing programs. Cost is the biggest obstacle that schools have to face when deciding whether or not to implement something like a drug testing program, and the reality is that many institutions simply do not have the financial capability to start such a