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Buzzby

School Explains New Drug Policy
Privileges will be tied to random testing
Natalie Root | Palladium-Item | date

GREENS FORK -- Only two people turned out to a Wednesday informational meeting about Hagerstown Junior-Senior High School's new random drug testing program.

Explaining the purpose of the program, school board member and drug screening committee member Cary Rhoades said, "We want to focus on prevention and make this not necessarily a disciplinary or punitive program but one that tries to encourage kids not to participate in substance abuse activity."

In order to participate in extra-curricular activities, including dances and the prom, or to drive to school, students will be asked at registration next school year to sign a form consenting to be put into a pool of students that will be randomly tested throughout the school year.

Principal Mark Childs said the program was developed because survey statistics indicate there is a rise in drug and alcohol use.

Childs said a steering committee of staff and community members spent more than two years working on the policy and that each of committee members was asked to contact at least 10 other community members to gather input.

Assistant principal Bill Bunger explained that a saliva test will be used because it is less invasive than other tests and because the student can be observed throughout the entire testing process. Bunger demonstrated the test by administering it to Childs.

Parent John Monroe remarked following the meeting, "I think it's a good thing but I think they might have a procedure problem." He questioned whether identification number tracking of samples sent to lab could lead to mixups and challenges.

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nerphroll

The other drugs besides marijuana that standard saliva tests looks for are cocaine, amphetamines, opiates, methamphetamines, all of which are more dangerous than marijuana. Another case of marijuana mistakenly being lumped in with more dangerous company. Nonetheless, minors should not be using any of these substances. The school should have a plan for confirmation of positive saliva tests too.

They have to realize though that saliva testing, at least for pot, stays positive such a short time that this won't stop Friday/Saturday night tokers. I think they're counting on a lot of student ignorance to scare them into abstaining. I'd also, if I were a parent there, like a detailed explanation of the "random" process of student selection.

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HELP ME IVE BEEN DOING THIS FOR OVER 13 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!
PURIFY ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Buzzby

This is the second report in a couple of days of the establishment of random drug testing in public schools in small, rural towns. The other one said that 90% of parents surveyed were in favor of the strategy. In this one, the level of indifference was so high that only two people out of a population of 1,700 bothered to show up to hear about it.

We need to get the kids in these towns to speak out against the madness. Their parents are obviously asleep.

reggie_the_dog

In France, the UK, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Germany, the age to buy alcohol or tobacco is 16. Cannabis is decrim in all countries but France so there is no official legal age but 16 is the age where it is acceptable to drink and smoke, so cannabis is acceptable too.

The USA is the only "western" country I know where teenagers cannot legally use alcohol.

To say members of a junior senior high school (teens from 16 to 19) should not use drugs may seem normal for you folks living in a country where you must be 21 to use alcohol, but it is considered "normal" teenage behaviour in most other "westernized" countries. Of course I live in a country where 40 percent of folks in the 15 to 25 category admitted in a govt. survey that they use cannabis at least 4 times a week, so I am used to young folks openly using.

reggie_the_dog

since when was driving to school and extra-curricular activity?

Does this include kids who will park off campus?

 

Abomonog

Reggie: In Europe children are given credit for their intellegence while in America, they are not. Everything about the way they are governed, from our methods of schooling all the way down to our drug and statutory laws , assumes that untill you are 18 you have the intellegence of a small dog. And yet here it is perfectly OK to throw a 15 year old in to a prison like Attica and leave him to get raped.


The result here is that children are beginning to show more extreme behavior.
I've noticed some recent trends in the news the suggest that the American society needs a wake up call on how to deal with children (off topic so cannot discuss here). Once the Dazed Generation and the Gen Xer's have had their time American politics are going to get really weird. Yeah ok it's weird already.

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It's all fun and games until the flying monkeys attack!