Drug testing has been around the world of sports ever since the steroid era of baseball in the early 2000’s. The drug tests have grown more complex and can now detect more banned substances than ever before. With all this new drug testing technology, the Black River Falls High School Student Senate has discussed the idea of a drug testing policy for those who participate in the school’s clubs and sporting teams.

If a drug testing policy were to be implemented in our school, I think that we could be taking a step in the wrong direction. Most clubs in the high school are not that big as it is. If a drug testing policy were put into effect, it could diminish the number of kids who want to join the club. Most kids who this would effect would be the kids who are not in the clubs and want to join them in a pursuit to become a better individual. This drug testing could scare those kids who want to better themselves from joining because they do not want to get in trouble right away and get humiliated by the drug test results.

Another downfall of drug testing is the fact that most drug tests can be fooled by the masking of substances. Masking substances is when you take other substances that can hide the presence of the banned substances that the tests are trying to detect. Most of the information about masking substances can be found on the internet. There are also other simple ways to pass drug tests like flushing, diluting, substituting, and adulterating. Every one of these ways to pass a drug test lay out plans and most students who take drugs would be able to find this information and put it into use.

I’m not saying that I am a supporter of drugs or the use of banned substances and I think that those who do them should not be allowed to participate in the clubs or the sports we offer here at BRFHS. The use of drugs in our school is a big problem and I know that it is a big issue in today’s society. I think that there are other ways to combat the drug problem in our school and our community. There are way too many flaws in drug testing and ways to get around them. It could be a waste of money for our school district in our already tight budget.

The drug tests that the general public (like you and I) hear about are some of the most high tech tests that can be administered and I’m guessing it costs a lot to analyze them. Our small school district of Black River Falls is already in a budget crunch and adding in the appropriate drug tests would cost us a pretty penny. As I see it, there are way more flaws and negatives to this drug testing policy than there are positives.