Many of the athletic programs at high schools across the country do have policies that ban the use of drugs. Not all high schools have put drug testing in place, but more and more high schools are starting to move in this direction. There is a lot of debate about whether high school drug testing is something that student athletes should endure.
There are people that are split on both sides, but it is important for you to be aware of what the pros and cons are of high school drug testing programs. This will enable you to make a much more informed decision about the topic and to know more about the main points of each side for and against. Here are the pros and cons of high school drug testing.
Pros of High School Drug Testing
1. Decreases Use of Drugs
The biggest positive of high school drug testing is the ability for it to act as a deterrent. This means that simply having drug testing in place within the high school setting will keep some people from even taking drugs of any type for fear of the ramifications that will come if they test positive for any banned drugs. This means that the simple threat alone will be enough to keep athletes from taking drugs. Having the amount of students taking drugs decreased is a great pro of high school drug testing.
2. Affordable
It is also affordable to have students drug tested. This means that the cost of having drug tests for student athletes can be managed over time and does not have to be a huge cost. This is another big benefit and will not add to the growing costs that schools are dealing with. having drug testing in place will help to make any athletic program much more reputable.
Cons of High School Drug Testing
1. Low Rate
One of the biggest downsides to drug testing high school students is that the rate at which these athletes are doing drugs is not high. this means that less than 1 percent of those tested are testing positive for drugs. This shows that drugs are not being used at a high rate and testing for drugs is not something that is necessary at the high school level. If it were a big problem, the rate at which people failed the drug test would be much higher and show that drugs are a major issue, but this is not the case.