As the Bush Administration's final year of student drug testing summits kicked off in Washington State last week, supporters of alternatives to this potentially harmful policy showed the Drug Czar's representatives that they would meet opposition to random student drug testing every step of the way.

The day before the Washington State summit, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer published an op-ed by Jennifer Kern, coordinator of DPA's Drug Testing Fails our Youth Campaign. Kern pointed out that "student drug testing programs are invasive, unproven, expensive and, perhaps most important, potentially counterproductive." Later in the week the paper's editorial board published its own indictment of random student drug testing.

Drug Policy Alliance staff gave radio interviews with local CBS station KIRO and NPR affiliate KPLU, and countered the Deputy Drug Czar's position as part of an extensive piece by NPR affiliate KUOW's call-in show "The Conversation." You can listen to the NPR segments online here and here.
At the January 17 summit in the Seattle-Tacoma area, our dedicated members and allies at the ACLU of Washington distributed copies of Making Sense of Student Drug Testing to attendees as they went into the auditorium. Several educators did not support student drug testing and expressed gratitude for the materials.

During a legal presentation at the summit, one of our allies asked about a challenge to student drug testing currently before the Washington State Supreme Court. The speaker dodged the question, saying that she would not deal with state constitutional issues. Our ally took the opportunity to emphasize that a legal presentation should not downplay the controversy around student drug testing, and should make Washington State educators aware of the disputes under the Washington State Constitution.

At a second Washington State summit the following day in Pasco, near the Oregon border, Jenna Henderson, a second year student at Gonzaga University School of Law and active member of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, made sure the Drug Czar's office didn't hit area educators with the drug testing message and run.  She was able to ask verbally about concern that drug testing may motivate some drug-involved adolescents to switch to harder drugs that leave the system quickly.  She repeatedly put out our booklets for distribution, but found that they were repeatedly removed.

The combination of in-person involvement at the Washington State summits and widespread media attention assured that educators got the message that random student drug testing is unsupported by the best available research, and can deter students from extracurricular activities--the very activities that increase students' connection to their schools and to caring adults.

There are four summits left in 2008, with the next one taking place January 29 in Jacksonville, Florida.  Watch your inbox for more information so that reformers can continue to meet the ONDCP with formidable opposition every step of the way.