As the White House student drug testing propaganda tour unfolded, ONDCP speakers didn’t count on dedicated activists countering them every step of the way. At each stop of the four-city tour, Alliance members and allies put the ONDCP on the defensive by providing literature, asking critical questions and raising alternatives to drug testing, which Drug Czar John Walters touts as the “silver bullet” to deterring students from drug use.

The Drug War Chronicle covered the efforts of the Alliance, Students for Sensible Drug Policy and other organizations from across the country in its feature article, “ONDCP Student Drug Testing Road Show Dogged by ‘Truth Squads’”. Jennifer Kern, Coordinator of the Alliance’s “Drug Testing Fails Our Youth” campaign told the Chronicle, “We are just a few small voices in opposition to testing, but because of our presence at the ONDCP summits, they are aware of us and they feel like they have to address our points. We are making them pause.”

And pause they did, as anti-student drug testing activists threw wrenches in their propaganda machine in every city:

Dallas: Suzy Wills of the Drug Policy Forum of Texas asked testing proponents to explain why experts, physicians, social workers, substance abuse treatment providers and child advocates were on record as opposing student drug testing. Testing proponent David Evans stumbled in his response, admitting he did not know.

St. Louis: An ONDCP presenter, fearful that attendees would read Alliance materials made available at the summit, made a poor attempt to diffuse our objections; holding up our booklet, Making Sense of Student Drug Testing: Why Educators Are Saying No, he read aloud our executive summary of arguments, and tried to refute each point.

Pittsburgh: The Alliance prepped for the third summit in Pittsburgh with an op-ed in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, in which Dr. Marsha Rosenbaum, Director of the Alliance’s drug education program for teenagers, Safety First, went head to head with Drug Czar John Walters.  Tom Angell, Communications Director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, also prevented the Deputy Drug Czar from presenting a one-sided message by offering an opposing viewpoint on testing at her press conference.

Portland, Oregon: At the summit’s final stop Amy Pincus Merwin, host of a progressive news show, responded to an Alliance action alert and interviewed Kern about the White House’s push for student drug testing. Merwin encouraged her listeners to attend the summit and challenge the policy. Members of Parents Ending Prohibition and Mothers Against Misuse and Abuse also made vocal their opposition to drug testing at the tour’s end.

The activists in each city ensured that educators were aware that student drug testing is not supported by science; does not equip young people with the tools to make safe decisions about substance use; and can result in harmful unintended consequences such as adolescents switching to harder drugs to avoid detection or avoiding extracurricular activities to completely avoid testing altogether.

Their work is paying off; after the summits many educators told reporters that they will not consider testing. The message is resonating in schools across the country and with momentum, perhaps next year John Walters will use taxpayer dollars for something more worthwhile.

To learn more about student drug testing, visit www.drugtestingfails.org.