Teen Drug Testing

Fact is, a lot of ground has already been lost by the time you discover that a teenager is abusing drugs. Whatever state of mind, confusion or problems that galvanized the adolescent into teen drug abuse has been festering for awhile. And if the teen has the misfortune of running afoul from the law in the course of their drug use, a young life can become completely derailed. “…a superstar athlete on the… basketball team was arrested on felony drug charges, which could result in him going to prison for as long as 10 years…in the blink of an eye this young man went from having the world at his fingertips, to becoming another washed-up athlete that let drugs ruin his life. ….drug addiction is not something that just happens in the blink of an eye. It’s something that is embedded in our culture; something that is often caused by peer pressure; and something that needs to be dealt with before, not after, a young person’s life is ruined.”

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On of the most effective tools for teen crisis intervention, is prevention. To that end, more and more schools are looking at implementing random drug testing. Though that raises civil rights issues, it can go towards dampening a teen’s interest in drugs if he realizes how much he stands to lose. “Would you like to find out that your child has a drug abuse problem through a program designed to identify and help the kid before it ruins his or her life? Or would you like to pick up the telephone and have the police tell you your child has been charged with a felony? Sometimes it takes a tragedy to recognize simple choices.” (Unknown source) By Ann Walker