According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance abuse, 17 percent of high school students report to being under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol at school.

Many schools have implemented programs where students involved in school activity can be randomly drug tested. Those activities include: students who drive to school, sports, and competitive clubs. This is used mainly for student athletes because they are seen as role models, and should be a good influence.

When a student tests positive there are a number of different things that can happen to them, it depends on what the school is told to do. According to drugfreeAmerica.org, the results will not be shared with anyone but the student and their parents. The results will not go on a record or be turned over to the police. But it is possible that the child will need to go to counseling or continue taking drug tests to ensure that they have stopped using.

It should not be thought of as an invasion of privacy because it will happen in the future. The majority of people will be drug tested in their life. Many employers have mandatory drug tests to ensure that the company is run efficiently. Athletes will be drug tested if they want to be involved leagues, that is because some substances can be used to temporarily improve performance.

Students should be encouraged to stay drug free. The reason this is important is because doing drugs in your teen years can lead to dependence and hard drug use later in life.If drug testing helps give students a reason to stay away from illegal substances, then that would be great. Drug testing mixed with a negative message about drugs would help keep young people from getting addicted now, and even later in life.