Protesting Drug Testing at My School.

My school is a small school, which plans to employ mandatory hair testing three times a year, from the testing company Psychemedics. According to their shop, a home hair testing kit will go for $60.00. Now, we have 500 students, that equals to $30,000. While i'm sure they have discounts for schools, it's probably true that they're spending no less than $50,000 a year on drug testing.

Drug testing, in my opinion, isn't nesecarry ( I know it's spelled wrong, my computer's dictionary is fucked up, and my spelling skills suck). If schools expect us to make out own choices whether or not we lie, cheat, steal, or fight, why shouldn't they expect us to do the same with drugs?

My point is, if they can expect us not to do other illegal activities, they should expect us not to use drugs. Some expectations may be... wrong, but at least they'll have the opportunity to use drugs if they feel the need. In my opinion, a few hits of Marijuana to see what it's like isn't criminal, it's mind-expanding.

In fact, one of the big things for my school is an "Honor Code", which trusts us not to any "wrongful" activities. Why shouldn't we employ the same with drugs?

Therefore, at the beginning of the year, i plan to bring up drug testing to a student council member, who will be representing a group we've already put together. I plan to explain rationally that we could much rather be spending the drug-testing money on new facilities for our school, or training for teachers. As well, as a proposed "honor code" for drugs. Remember, we're still in the very beginnings of our plans, so this is a rough outline and shouldn't be made final. I hope to get some tips for protest from you, and any suggestions.

Yes, i know this'll make me a prime target for drug testing. I've been clean for over 4 months, (just when i heard about drug testing). And i made sure everyone else is clean. We'll probably be shot down in our efforts quickly, but we have perseverance.
Thanks,

~ Kuroi ~

Good luck, man :thumbsup:

Is this a private school by any chance? If it is, something like drug testing is probably supported by the parents that pay for their kids tuition, so you would be better off changing their minds rather than school administrators. If it's not private, where do you live? What happens if you fail? They could never do this at my old high school because everybody would have failed haha

One thing you should include in your argument is that those drug tests most likely do not go over prescription drugs, and abuse of prescription drugs is becoming more and more popular - some say is the new marijuana, (click). It might be a good idea to at least bring this point up that prescription drug use is far more dangerous of an issue than smoking a plant.

Good luck, but you usually can never win fighting against your school. It's good you are staying clean yourself though, because regardless of what your own opinion is of using illegal drugs, a failed drug test would keep anybody important from paying any attention to what you have to say.

The main argument against drug testing, is that they do not test for impairment, only exposure.

Good luck man. Fighting a schools decision is really hard considering you have like zero rights at all. Just do everything very maturely thats your best bet.

Your idea is very admirable. But schools are effectively a law unto themselves. If they want to test you they will...and theres very little you can do about it.

Start off with your plans to speak to the school/school board and such. There is a chance that it will work.

After that, starting hitting the PTO meetings. Get parents involved, let the public know the amount of money being spent on this program each year. Have your alternatives on hand to discuss at the meetings.

After that, if that doesnt work, start hitting the local papers. Get the story out to people outside your city, contact local news people, start up petitions... so on and so forth.

The more persistant and a pain in the ass you are about this, the better chance you have of getting things to work out the way you want it. Now sure, most schools would love publicity for mandated drug testing, makes them look good. The key here is to make it look like a bad idea. Find actual other programs in the school that are sorely lacking that could use this funding, and point it out. Start making it less about testing students, but more about it being better to appropriate the money elsewhere and find alternative methods to accomplish what the drug testing would.

You will really catch some steam if you can get some parents/adults behind you on this fight. The more parents, the better.

wow this is really cool that you're doing this. all of the peoples advice seem like good ideas and if i come up with anything i'll deffinetly drop in to give some input! good luck man!

Yeah, my school is a private school. Thanks for all the advice. We plan to go to the Student Council, to get people aware of the possible negative outcomes of drug testing. Then, we plan to go straight to the Media. The PTO won't listen, they'll brand us as druggies, and we'll be banished from society for standing up for what we think is right. (Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights?).

Also, yeah, my school is lacking funding in major aspects. We all have brand new shiny apples, but we don't have an auditorium, not much of a 7th grade, or 6th grade department to speak of, and the teachers suck at teaching. Drugs aren't bad, the people who think they are are the evil ones. They've never done their research about everything that's positive about Marijuana. They've only seen the negative stuff, and tend to slap that on us without realizing the positives. For a bunch of kids, drugs was an intergal part of their lives, and they seemed to turn out fine. Look at some of your parents, i sure as hell know they were hippies, and they turned out okay (well, parents, i know. But by sociotey's standards...) Anyways, we need to fight against schools, just so we can smoke a joint, for godsake!
Thanks for support,
~Kuroi~

Also be aware that in the United States you have no right to say anything negative about any drug policies in school or out of school or at home or on the internet (At least that's the way I read the Bong Hits 4 Jesus decision). So evidently these GD MF pseudo-cons want to make sure that all children learn that you have all the free speech you want as long as it always supports government policies ARRGH I'm about to freaking have an aneurysm!!!!! Seriously I feel veins throbbing in my temples, my HEAD WILL EXPLODE SOON!!!!! :microwave: Sorry for flipping out but everyone from the ACLU to the ACLJ (Opposite sides of the political spectrum - ACLJ is Pat Robertson's legal advocacy group) was on the side of the student, and the court PROVED that it has COMPLETE and UTTER CONTEMPT for all constitutional rights, and HATES the PEOPLE of my country, and believe me, it's the same way in BOTH DEMICAN and REPUBLICRAT parties, the only good one is Ron Paul or the Libertarians, maybe Barney Frank or Dennis Kucinich (I don't know anything much about them) but all who go against the grain will be SHUT DOWN with full support of all the ignorant sports-and-war fanatics (Isn't it odd how the two ALMOST ALWAYS seem to go together) who wax patriotic even as their heroes pull their pants down and give them wedgies. Sorry, ranting...

I know how you feel man, its bullshit I go to a private school and I now have to quit for god knows how long until the school year is over its fucking unbelievable. Having to quit smoking for like 10 months makes me very sad, especially since I didn't even have the privilage of a last bag before I went on this vacation that I just got back from and now I have to quit.

If they want piss,,,
Give them gallons of it. All over the school.
Save it in a jug.
Never piss again without aiming it at the school.

Lol, I can only assume the p on psteve stands for pissing. :) That really would be illegal though, and because of the GOOD kind of law (Protecting private and public property, and the rights of other people to not walk on puddles of piss :toilet_claw: )

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Originally Posted by JD1stTimer

That really would be illegal though, and because of the GOOD kind of law (Protecting private and public property, and the rights of other people to not walk on puddles of piss :toilet_claw: )

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Thats not a right, thats a privilege... at least in some other countries.

Rather than fighting the system why don't you just convince your parents to let you go to a different school? Doesn't sound like it's worth paying for anyway.

Somehow I'm not surprised. Both private/public schools have been eroding student rights for years now. Free speech is under attack. The right to privacy is under attack. And it only seems to be getting worse.

I'm glad I'm outta school for good now! Don't got to worry about that shit. I just have to find a job where they don't drug test.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ~ Kuroi ~

My school is a small school, which plans to employ mandatory hair testing three times a year, from the testing company Psychemedics. According to their shop, a home hair testing kit will go for $60.00. Now, we have 500 students, that equals to $30,000. While i'm sure they have discounts for schools, it's probably true that they're spending no less than $50,000 a year on drug testing.

Drug testing, in my opinion, isn't nesecarry ( I know it's spelled wrong, my computer's dictionary is fucked up, and my spelling skills suck). If schools expect us to make out own choices whether or not we lie, cheat, steal, or fight, why shouldn't they expect us to do the same with drugs?

My point is, if they can expect us not to do other illegal activities, they should expect us not to use drugs. Some expectations may be... wrong, but at least they'll have the opportunity to use drugs if they feel the need. In my opinion, a few hits of Marijuana to see what it's like isn't criminal, it's mind-expanding.

In fact, one of the big things for my school is an "Honor Code", which trusts us not to any "wrongful" activities. Why shouldn't we employ the same with drugs?

Therefore, at the beginning of the year, i plan to bring up drug testing to a student council member, who will be representing a group we've already put together. I plan to explain rationally that we could much rather be spending the drug-testing money on new facilities for our school, or training for teachers. As well, as a proposed "honor code" for drugs. Remember, we're still in the very beginnings of our plans, so this is a rough outline and shouldn't be made final. I hope to get some tips for protest from you, and any suggestions.

Yes, i know this'll make me a prime target for drug testing. I've been clean for over 4 months, (just when i heard about drug testing). And i made sure everyone else is clean. We'll probably be shot down in our efforts quickly, but we have perseverance.
Thanks,

~ Kuroi ~

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THANK YOU. my school is doing piss test "randomly" and the students are "randomly" chosen. anyone who tests positive for anything, even alcohol, will be imediatly suspended or expelled depending on the "severity". FUCK THAT. how can they suspend us based on what we do outside of school. it isnt the schools business if i light up when i get home. they dont have jurisdiction over my homelife. next time they ask me to piss in a cup i am going to spit in that fat bitches face.

I don't know how old you are Stonerman, but if you're under 18 you're not going to like what I'm about to say, but if you can keep a cool head and try to understand my argument you might figure out what I mean and that I'm not out to get you. The deal is, it IS adult's responsibility to keep younger people safe and healthy, that "bitch" may not be as much of one as you think she is (Though she may be), and most likely she just thinks she's doing a good thing. Looking back on it, I REALLY wish my parents had stopped me from playing video games and eating so much, and made me exercise more. When I was a kid I just COULDN'T make those kinds of decisions rationally, I could only understand what I thought was FUN at the time. That's why it was wrong for my parents to give me the RIGHT to do anything. Now I'm on my own and I eat right, I'm active, but it took YEARS to reach 340lbs and over the past 7 years or so I have lost 70 pounds, gained 40 pounds, and lost 10 pounds again and I'm still working on it. The point is, the younger you are the less able you are to focus on the LIFETIME you have ahead of you and how your choices will affect you. Now if by school you mean college, then I would agree you have the right to do whatever you want, and no one should be testing you.

Holy shit I can't believe I'm hearing this!! The system is starting with our youth!!

Talk about bull shit.

Don't piss on the school. Don't do shit to the school except protest drug testing. Fucking up the school would make you look bad, so don't do it.

Sure, the system starts with the youth, but for kids the only "man" they should have to deal with is their parents and the parents of any other kids they beat up or give swirlies or whatever, if they TP someones house then that guy becomes the "man"... but that's the good way. If it goes right in the youth the system can be slowly abandoned as the person effectively learns to draw the line properly relating to actions which will harm others or your own future. But it's not up to the school or government to parent the kids, because THEY REALLY DONT LOVE THE KIDS, except maybe in the bad way. (Where I live, SOOOOO many teachers are banging their middle school students its ridiculous). Anyways, the system should be on the youth, slowly dissipating over time. They kinda had it right making 16 the age for some new rights, 18 for others, 21 for others, but the problem is that only the parents can really judge their own kids abilities with any kind of accuracy.

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Originally Posted by RollenJoynts

Don't piss on the school. Don't do shit to the school except protest drug testing. Fucking up the school would make you look bad, so don't do it.

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Yeah, good advice. Try to keep your head clean otherwise they'll just try to make an example out of you. Definitley protest though. There are plenty of ways to protest w/o breaking the rules and getting into more trouble.

Just be mature and serious and logical. Good luck hun!

thats only 30000 per quarter. 90000 a year if they tested alll 500 students is a waste of money.

do you go to a private school?

Big thing is your letter. Take out the part about marijuana being mind expanding. Bad fucking idea, they'll go straight with that and say you're doing something illegal. First off I would find a part of your school that would need that 50K a year more than drug testing. Like music department or even if your school's own building needs something. Another good idea is introduce a more healthier (and more expensive too) lunch program. That one would be backed up by many if you took it off the issue of drug testing and put it into healthier food. My 2 cents. (it's actually worth a dollar to you guys)

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Originally Posted by 503Danks

Big thing is your letter. Take out the part about marijuana being mind expanding. Bad fucking idea, they'll go straight with that and say you're doing something illegal. First off I would find a part of your school that would need that 50K a year more than drug testing. Like music department or even if your school's own building needs something. Another good idea is introduce a more healthier (and more expensive too) lunch program. That one would be backed up by many if you took it off the issue of drug testing and put it into healthier food. My 2 cents. (it's actually worth a dollar to you guys)

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Wow, after reading this entire thread, I would have to say this is the advice I would most agree with.

WE all know marijuana is good and mind expanding, but to people who have never tried it and have been brainwashed by the government their whole life they are not going to want to hear that.

Present something else that is more important then drug testing, and I think that is your best bet.

Good luck with the private school, my friend. I went to private school most of my life except when I started high school and on, it really sucks.

Once again violating your constitutional rights which protect you against unlawful search & seizure. They're allowed to search your piss for drugs without reason..in the future they'll be drawing blood.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JD1stTimer

I don't know how old you are Stonerman, but if you're under 18 you're not going to like what I'm about to say, but if you can keep a cool head and try to understand my argument you might figure out what I mean and that I'm not out to get you. The deal is, it IS adult's responsibility to keep younger people safe and healthy, that "bitch" may not be as much of one as you think she is (Though she may be), and most likely she just thinks she's doing a good thing. Looking back on it, I REALLY wish my parents had stopped me from playing video games and eating so much, and made me exercise more. When I was a kid I just COULDN'T make those kinds of decisions rationally, I could only understand what I thought was FUN at the time. That's why it was wrong for my parents to give me the RIGHT to do anything. Now I'm on my own and I eat right, I'm active, but it took YEARS to reach 340lbs and over the past 7 years or so I have lost 70 pounds, gained 40 pounds, and lost 10 pounds again and I'm still working on it. The point is, the younger you are the less able you are to focus on the LIFETIME you have ahead of you and how your choices will affect you. Now if by school you mean college, then I would agree you have the right to do whatever you want, and no one should be testing you.

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im 18 and in my senior year. i just think that the principal has no right to know what i do in my own time. and i keep my grades up and other than weed (which i never do or hav ein school) i stay out of trouble. no fighting, no stealing or anything actually immoral. one time, i got jumped right after school hours right next to school property and they said "we dont have jurisdiction on what happens off school property" but when someone snitched that i had weed at my house i got suspended. so i just think the school is full of shit.

Yeah, looking back on highschool there was a lot of bullshit like that... but ten years later I can see their perspective and that mostly they weren't actually bad people, just misinformed and ignorant with a touch of an authority complex mixed in with a sprinkling of the old idea that having some non-mortal violence inflicted on people is good for them in the long run, to toughen them up. Misguided, ignorant, whatever but I can see where they were coming from. In my school if you got beat down and told the principal or whatever they would not keep it secret that you're a snitch. They would ask if you're sure it was bad enough to get the perps in trouble, then when the perps got out of ISS you were gonna get a beatdown on your way home and your house egged or whatever. It was the most ass policy possible, but I can see the twisted logic of trying to teach you that if you are going to make accusations you should grow some balls about it. I think it was a sincere belief.

didnt mean to get so hot headed on my first responce. just my school fucks me over when it comes to this. i had an eighter at my house when i was like 13 and the school suspended me and made me go to rehab and i never even had it at the school. its stuff like that that grinds my gears.

its just complete horseshit and the schools easily get away with it. i figure there would be some privacy laws concerning this shit but apparently not.