Drug Testing In Schools ‘Not Working,’ Researchers Say

(Photo credit: Jeramey Jannene/Flickr)

Drug testing doesn’t work to prevent high school students from experimenting with substances, according to new research from the U.S.

Approximately 20 percent of U.S. high schools subject their students to drug testing of some form.

But there is little evidence that the strategy is effective, says Daniel Romer, Ph.D. of the University of Pennsylvania Annenberg Public Policy Center in Philadelphia and co-author of the latest study.

“Even though drug testing sounds good, based on the science, it’s not working.”

Published in the January issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, Dr. Romer and his coworkers interviewed 361 high school students and found that, over the next year, those at schools with drug testing programs were no less likely to try marijuana, cigarettes or alcohol than those who weren’t.

About one third of students in the study attended schools with drug testing programs.

Dr. Romer explains that drug testing may lead students to avoid certain substances in the short-run, but doesn’t seem to impact their overall attitude towards drug use.

Instead, the findings point to school environment as a stronger indicator of underage substance use. Students that rated their school environments as more positive tended to use less marijuana and cigarettes.

However, alcohol use was not affected, which Dr. Romer attributes to widespread marketing of the substance.

“It’s a real problem,” he says of underage drinking, “and right now we’re not doing enough to address it.”

According to Scientific American, a 2009 meta-analysis of 20 previous studies also found that students enrolled in drug education programs like D.A.R.E. were just as likely to use drugs as those who received no intervention.

Source Leaf Science