For the fourth year in a row, the Office of National Drug Control Policy is back on the road trying to convince parents, teachers and local politicians that random student drug testing is the "silver bullet" to combat adolescent drug use, despite objections from adolescent health experts.

Government representatives are visiting four cities in the coming weeks, delivering the hard sell for the Bush administration's nationwide student drug testing agenda, complete with enticements for federal funding.

On last year's tour, dedicated drug policy reformers descended on every meeting with sharp questions and literature to counter the ONDCP's deceptive presentations.  Many educators expressed dissatisfaction with the one-sided information provided by the ONDCP, and were grateful to hear what we had to say: 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.

This year, the tour may be coming to your area. This is your chance to make your opposition heard loud and clear! Visit our online toolkit and keep an eye on your inbox for information how to organize a group to attend the summit near you, ask questions that will really put drug testing enthusiasts on the spot, and arm yourself with literature that attendees can take home. Even if none of the summits are close enough for you to attend, you can still get involved by spreading the word. Mark your calendar now!

Meeting locations and dates are:

Charleston, SC, Wednesday, January 24, 2007
9am-4pm (Embassy Suites Hotel Airport/Convention Center, 5055 International Blvd)
 
Newark, NJ, Tuesday, February 27, 2007
9am-4pm (Hilton Newark Airport, 1170 Spring Street)

Honolulu, HI, Tuesday, March 27, 2007
9am-4pm (Waikiki Beach & Sheraton Hotels, 2255 Kalakaua Avenue)
 
Las Vegas, NV, Tuesday, April 24, 2007
9am-4pm (Cashman Center, 850 N. Las Vegas Blvd.)

Last year, we forced ONDCP officials to explicitly acknowledge opposition presence at every summit. Our supporters had drug testing proponents stumbling over their responses, admitting they did not know the answers to our critical questions. Our work paid off; after the summits many educators told reporters that they will not consider testing.

Peter Eyre attended the summit in Falls Church, Virginia, last year and said, "At the summit most educators I talked to were still on the fence about whether to implement student drug testing or not and almost everyone there was still receptive to hearing information from drug policy reformers."  Click here to read more reflections and tips from members who attended past summits.

Learn More About Student Drug Testing

Drug testing is humiliating, costly and ineffective, but it's an easy anti-drug sound bite for the White House. Student testing breaks the trust between children and adults and drives students away from extracurricular activities. What's more, studies even show that student drug testing doesn't work to deter drug use. Read the story of how one student's life was turned upside down by drug testing and how drug testing created a devastating false sense of security for another family.

Visit our website and read a copy of our booklet Making Sense of Student Drug Testing: Why Educators Are Saying No.