Pubdate: Wed, 05 Jan 2005
Source: Financial Times (UK)
Copyright: The Financial Times Limited 2005
Contact:  http://www.ft.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/154
Author: Jimmy Burns
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test)
Cited: DrugScope ( www.drugscope.org.uk )

MINISTERS WARNED AGAINST DRUG TESTS FOR PUPILS

A leading government adviser on drugs policy has warned ministers against 
promoting random drug tests for schoolchildren.

Martin Barnes, chief executive of the DrugScope charity, who sits on the 
government's advisory council on the misuse of drugs, yesterday warned 
testing risked driving drug use further underground and could result in a 
rise in truancies.

"We do not accept that testing pupils as young as 11 is a proportionate 
response to general concerns about drug use," he said.

He was speaking as The Abbey School near Faversham, Kent, prepared to 
become the first state school to introduce testing as pupils returned after 
Christmas.

 From today, 20 pupils at the mixed, non-selective school, aged 11-19, will 
be selected each week by computer and their mouth swabs taken by 
specially-trained non-teaching staff. The swabs will then be sent off to a 
drugs-testing laboratory.

No child will be tested against his or her wishes but refusal will mean the 
school alerting parents for discussion about any future support that might 
be needed. Children who test positive will not be expelled although police 
will be called in if they are found to have been involved in dealing.

The pilot is being sponsored by the News of the World newspaper, which has 
mounted a high profile campaign over the past year in favour of testing in 
schools.

Current government guidelines include advice to headteachers about taking 
urine samples and using sniffer dogs to search for drugs in schools, but 
suggests that testing should be considered only as a last resort.