The President’s fiscal year 2006 budget proposes $25.4 million for student drug testing programs, which is an increase of more than $15 million over the previous year.

Nearly three years have passed since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed schools to drug test students and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) is seeking to implement more drug testing programs throughout the nation.

In his 2004 State of the Union Address President Bush said, “One of the worst decisions children can make is to gamble their lives and futures on drugs.” He continued to explain that, “The aim here is not to punish children, but to send them this message: We love you, and we don';t want to lose you.”

Student drug testing has been a controversial topic over the last few years as it is viewed by some individuals and groups to be an invasion of privacy, however the negative impact that substance abuse has on society cannot be ignored.

School administrators and teachers continue to work with community leaders, parents and prevention programs to curb adolescent drug abuse. The latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health claims that some of these efforts seem to be working by citing that illicit drug use among youth declined by nine percent over the last two years.

The student drug testing initiative provides competitive grants to support schools in the design and implementation of programs to randomly screen selected students and to intervene with assessment, referral, and intervention for students whose test results indicate they have used illicit drugs.

Four Regional Drug Testing Summits were held earlier this year to help educate interested officials on the process. The ONDCP reports that in addition to creating a culture of disapproval toward drugs in the communities where it is employed, student drug testing also achieves three public health goals:

1) it deters children from initiating drug use;

2) it identifies children who have just started using drugs so that parents and counselors can intervene early; and

3) it helps identify children who have a dependency on drugs so that they can be referred to effective drug treatment.

Drug prevention programs are aimed at protecting kids from behavior that destroys bodies and minds, impedes academic performance, and creates barriers to success and happiness. The topic is a timely one, as the last week of October is a time when many of the nation’s schools focus on drug education and prevention.

 It’s called Red Ribbon Week. Red Ribbon Week is October 23-31 and began 20 years ago to honor a slain DEA Agent by promoting drug-free living. One of the many organizations helping to keep kids off drugs during Red Ribbon Week is Narconon Arrowhead, which is one of the largest and most successful drug rehabilitation and education programs in the country.

Narconon Arrowhead has successfully helped kids throughout the country for many years through anti-drug media campaigns and live presentations with schools, churches, camps and other community programs.

The organization attributes its long-standing success to the application of American author and humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard’s effective drug-free methodology. To find out more about Narconon Arrowhead or to get information about drugs and addiction, call 1-800-468-6933 today or visit
www.stopaddiction.com.

If you would like more information about Red Ribbon Week, visit the National Family Partnership’s website at www.nfp.org.