Is it time for drug testing in schools?Mar 26 07:12am A new...

Is it time for drug testing in schools?
Mar 26 07:12am


A new report by the Australian National Council on Drugs has looked at the viability of drug testing in schools. The report concluded that there is insufficient evidence to show drug testing in schools has any benefits.

The cost of introducing drug testing in all schools for every student once a year is estimated to be $355 million for saliva tests and $302 million for urine tests.

The report looked at all the available evidence worldwide over 12 months. It found most drug tests are unreliable for testing all drugs in schools. There are also a wide range of moral and legal issues associated with introducing the tests.

The report's authors stated that alcohol and binge drinking were the biggest issues facing teenagers, which drug testing in schools would not address.

Key facts

Cannabis is the most common drug used by school aged children with less than 4% of school students regularly using cannabis and less than 1% of school students using other illicit drugs.”
Below average academic performers are up to 3 times more likely to use illicit drugs than above average students.
Disposable income is a significant contributor to school children using drugs. Authors found that students with $21-$60 disposable income a week were 60% more likely to have used any drug in the past 12 months than students with less than $20 to spend each week. Students with more than $60 a week to spend were 90% more likely to have used any drug in the last year