Drug Testing of Middle-School Students May Help Prevent Substance Abuse: Study
Random drug testing of middle-school students may help
prevent substance abuse, a six-year study of New Jersey students
suggests.
Students who were randomly tested for drugs were less likely to use
them in later years, according to the study, conducted by the
Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey and Fairleigh Dickinson
University. The researchers found drug use by students in grades 6-8 is
relatively rare, Newsworks reports.
The study found that only about 1 percent of 8th graders say they
have ever used illicit drugs, and only about 14 percent indicate that
they have ever drunk alcohol, other than in circumstances where it’s
allowed, such as religious ceremonies. Among students who were tested
for drugs and alcohol, 6 percent said they had ever consumed alcohol.
Lead researcher Dan Cassino said when middle-school students are
tested for drugs, they realize drug use can get them in trouble. He
noted expanding random drug testing, while it might be effective, would
be costly.
“We still see a spike around the junior year of high school,” Cassino
said. “Once the kids get a car and get a job, all bets are off, and the
rates of drug and alcohol use go through the roof; but that spike is
much smaller among students who actually were randomly drug tested at
some point.”
“These results show that student drug testing changes the environment
of the school community and show they serve as an effective prevention
strategy for the abuse of drugs and alcohol in their future,” Angelo M.
Valente, Executive Director of the Partnership for a Drug-Free New
Jersey, said in a news release. “This study proves random drug testing in New Jersey middle schools helps prevent substance abuse.”
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