Drug Testing Student Athletes

Drug use is a major problem in the U.S. Some schools at the middle school level are now testing their students for drugs. While some people think testing middle schoolers for drugs is not helping, drugs can affect the way sports are played, and cause health problems, such as addiction.

First, schools should be allowed to perform drug testing on student athletes because drugs affect the way sports are played. Drugs like alcohol, cannabis, and opiates slow down breathing by lowering the capacity of the lungs. Alcohol causes mild anesthesia or the loss of feeling, so when an injury happens the body won’t sense it. On the website drugs.ie it says “some depressants, such as alcohol, cause mild anaesthesia or loss of feeling, so you may not notice …show more content…
According to www.drugabuse.gov addiction is the “chronic disease characterized by compulsive, or uncontrollable, drug seeking and use despite harmful consequences and changes in the brain”(www.drugabuse.gov 1). Having a compulsive urge to use drugs can distract a student from focusing on school, and not thinking about when the next “high” will be. The weakening of the immune system makes the student more prone to sickness, no doubt the student would miss out more on school. The simple, common diseases like the cold can last longer than usual, which then still keeps the student from getting the learning required. Some problems of brain damage are memory, attention, and decision-making. Without having the span of memory as normal brains the student will have trouble remembering the lessons taught in the school. With a low attention span, the student will once again, not focus as well. Making the right decisions is essential to behaving good in school, and keeping good grades. As a result, wrong decision-making could leave you in the dark part of