Paquin's Ionic Column - Drug-tests

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Student Drug-tests Teach Wrong Lessons

Across America, boards of education are implementing student drug-tests like they are handing out free candies. They are not good candies either. They are more like those hard candies from the Wilson administration a grandmother would offer. What makes these candies so unsatisfying is not that they violate natural rights, but that they teach the wrong lessons.

In actuality, under the correct circumstances, student drug-tests do not violate natural rights. If all schools were privatized, and children were not required by law to attend school, drug-tests would not initiate force. In this circumstance an individual chooses to attend school; he is not forced to. Furthermore, the schools are private; they may accept any individual for whatever reason. Therefore, attending school would be a privilege not a requirement. One would not have any sort of citizen’s right to be provided with education. One would have to follow the requirements of the institution if he wanted to be accepted. Passing a drug-test could be one such requirement.

As it stands now, drug-tests may violate natural rights. An individual may keep aspects of his life private; he does not have to share them with others if he so chooses. This is protected by and individual’s natural right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. However, it is debatable as to whether or not a child is entitled to full natural rights, for his reason is not fully developed. Also, most schools only require drug-tests for extracurricular activities. Since individuals are not mandated by law to play a sport or drive on school property, extracurricular activities are privileges like privatized non-mandated education would be.

However, other schools merely randomize student drug-tests, which more likely violates natural rights. Randomizing drug-tests is just like drug-testing everyone, except less students are tested, and the students do not know if who will be tested and when. Regardless of whether or not the tests are randomized, those tested are still forced by law to attend school. Subsequently, school is not a privilege. Of course, this is only true for public schools.

Obviously, the goal of drug-tests is not to exile children from education. The goal is to help students with addictions. Of course, this is contradicted by the fact that schools do not test students for cigarette or alcohol use. However, even if the tests encompassed all addictions they would still do more harm than good, for drug-tests do not teach children to say no to drugs. Drug-tests teach children that it is virtuous to force blood and urine samples from individuals to determine if they are living healthy lives. School drug searches teach similar lessons. When police officers and dogs enter the school sniffing and searching for drugs children do not learn to say no to drugs. Instead, children learn that it is virtuous to riffle through individuals’ property to determine if they are living healthy lives. Drug-tests and drug searches teach children that using violence, initiating force, violating individuals’ natural rights of life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, and property is virtuous, if it is used to determine if people are healthy.

In a democracy this is where the tyrannical nanny state begins. The nanny state does not develop from the government. The nanny state develops from the people who vote for tyrannical politicians. People choose to vote for nanny politicians because they are taught that nanny policies, drug-tests, drug searches, smoking bans, trans fat bans, etc. are virtuous. They learn this as children when their parents and government carry out lesser nanny policies. Therefore, when they can vote, they choose to make the next step towards a nanny tyranny. In a democracy the government is not corrected by first electing better politicians. That is second. The first step in correcting a democratic government is teaching children better lessons; teaching the Truth. Drug-tests do not guarantee less drug use in the future, but more tyranny.