Drug testing is a very controversial issue in today society. It causes uproar from the students and the workers across America because they feel that it is an infringement of their rights. I believe that it is an infringement of a person’s right to be tested of drugs just out of the blue and without just cause. I also believe that a person should be tested if they injure themselves or cause an injury to someone else on the job because then the employer is not held accountable or responsible for the damage that the worker might have caused (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, FEB 12, 1995 pA1). For a student, I think that if I student is getting very poor grades, acting up in class, or even skipping school, then, I feel they should be tested for drugs.
There are some pros to having drug tests though. A good thing about drug testing periodically would be that it could possibly frighten employees to do and use drugs, then they would stay clean and hopefully diminish the number of accidents and/or fatalities at the work place. It is a proven fact that a typical recreational drug user in today’s work force is 2.2 times more likely to request time off or an early dismissal. They are 2.5 times more likely to have eight or more days of absences, three more times likely to be late for work and a third less productive on his or her job (USA TODAY MAGAZINE, JAN. 1995 PP-81-82). Also that if a person is caught with drugs then the employer could help this person, send him to a rehabilitation and hopefully get this person off of drugs before it becomes to late.
A con to having periodical drug tests in the work place would be that a worker might feel that his privacy is gone, which could create problems by him getting very mad and maybe even quit his job, then he could start up drinking and get involved in drugs and maybe eventually suicide. Also that a drug test depending on what the employer is looking for can become very costly and if they test every employer they could be losing a large sum of money.
A pro to having drug tests in school would be that school officials could help the student that is caught with drugs, warn him of the negatives. It would also keep kids clean from drugs, definitely lower then number of fatalities related to drug issues, including crimes and drug wars.
...ult, and some times it does not give a result at all. It is unfair because it only targets certain workers; mainly low wage employees. It is unjust because people are automatically accused of using drugs, and that is why the drug test is given. Drug testing should not be abolished, but it should be a more controlled issue since it is something everyone in the US must go through.
While employment screening in the healthcare sector is decidedly standard, the law does often not require drug and alcohol testing. Substance abuse is one of the leading causes of disciplinary action against a nursing license in the U.S. Random drug screenings are used to detect the use of unapproved or illegal drugs for the purpose of upholding patient safety (National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 2006). The American Nurses Association (ANA) estimates that six to eight percent of nurses use alcohol or drugs to a degree that would impair professional judgment (National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 2011). Approximately one-third of the one percent of actively licensed nurses are disciplined each year for their substance misconduct (Kenward, 2008). Protecting patients from unsafe practices and personnel is the primary responsibility of each supervisory board of nursing. However, the fear of punishment from the board or termination keeps many nurses unwilling to come forward (Maher-Brisen 2007). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the viability of mandating random drug testing for nurses and other health professionals. The objective of this would be to address the rooted issues of substance abuse and decrease the risk of harm to patients under the healthcare provider’s care.
There is no clear evidence that drug testing at work has a significant deterrent effect. Drug testing is not a measure of current intoxication and will reveal information about drug use that can have no impact on safety, productivity or performance. Drug testing is designed to detect and punish conduct that is usually engaged in off-duty and off the employer's premises - that is, in private. Employers who conduct random drug tests on workers who are not suspected of using drugs are policing private behavior that has no impact on job performance. Someone may test positive after taking a drug days, weeks or months before. People not generally required to organize their lives to maximize their productivity at work...
...ng drugs will have a huge impact on them and the people that they are around. When a person does drugs once, they will keep using them and eventually become addicted. Drug testing student athletes is a necessity because taking drugs affects relationships that the athlete has, drugs cause consequence that can be detrimental, and lastly taking drugs hurt the body causing the athlete to have health issues. Hence, drug testing should be done in all high schools around the country.
Some may say that drug testing students is unconstitutional because it is an “invasion of privacy”. This, however, is not true. . . “In 1995, the United States Supreme Court ruled that drug testing for high school athletes was constitutional, and some districts expanded their policies to include middle schools.” I believe allowing schools to drug test athletes was a very positive thing. For many reason, but mainly because athletes who are on drugs have a higher risk of being injured. For example a kid who is on drugs and plays a sporting event has a greater risk of their heart stopping on the field or court. “Drug tests analyze bodily samples such as urine, blood, or hair to detect the presence of legal and illegal drugs.” The most common one is urine testing. I believe urine testing is the best way for high school students, because it does not take as long as some other tests and it is not as costly as other tests. This is especially important because obviously a school does not want to spend money on anything they do not have to. Our school does randomly drug test students every once in a while but only a few of the athletes are chosen to take the test so that really is not helping ...
One of the significant issues that frequently evident by the organizations is the privacy policy related to workers. According to Wright (2013), the utilization of workplace drug testing policy by the employers might affect the workers' behavior outside the workplace.
Random drug tests would help control the problem of student athletes using drugs. Most students who are still in sports in
“A medical dictionary defines a drug as ‘any substance that when taken into the living organism may modify one or more of its functions’” (Newton 12). However, when speaking of drug testing for abuse a person is usually thinking about illegal drugs or drugs that can alter athletic performance in sporting events. Mandatory drug testing was not allowed in public schools until June 2002 when the Supreme Court allowed for public schools to do random drug testing (Carroll 23). This decision allowed for drug testing in all schools throughout the United States not just for athletes but also students who are in any activities within the school, for example clubs and competitive events (Carroll 23). Even though drug testing is now allowed by the Supreme Court many schools do not yet have mandatory drug test policies. Mandatory drug testing for high school athletes should be required because it decreases drug use in schools, is relatively inexpensive, and can prevent drug use and or abuse that can lead to a lifelong addiction.
Drug use now in days has grown more over these past years, with the abuse of drugs many people still have the privilege to apply freely to the welfare programs such as WIC, Food Stamps, and TANF. My interest to this topic is why it would be unconstitutional to be able to do a drug testing on welfare applicants.
The ethics of drug testing has become an increased concern for many companies in the recent years. More companies are beginning to use it and more people are starting more to have problems with it. The tests are now more than ever seen as a way to stop the problems of drug abuse in the workplace. This brings up a very large question. Is drug testing an ethical way to decide employee drug use? It is also very hard to decide if the test is an invasion of employee privacy. “The ethical status of workplace drug testing can be expressed as a question of competing interests, between the employer’s right to use testing to reduce drug related harms and maximize profits, over against the employee’s right to privacy, particularly with regard to drug use which occurs outside the workplace.” (Cranford 2) The rights of the employee have to be considered. The Supreme Court case, Griswold vs. Connecticut outlines the idea that every person is entitled to a privacy zone. However this definition covers privacy and protection from government. To work productively especially when the work may be physical it is nearly impossible to keep one’s privacy. The relationship between employer and employee is based on a contract. The employee provides work for the employer and in return he is paid. If the employee cannot provide services because of problems such as drug abuse, then he is violating the contract. Employers have the right to know many things about their employees.
Until this issue is controlled and the laws are clear to understand, there will continue to be debates on the use of drug screening and the reasoning behind such method. The history of flaws and unreliable testing has turned the American people against such testing. In order to gain control, the federal government should look into these laws and make a determination has to how these policies should be implemented and to whom it should apply.
When employees get hired, they get a drug test due to the fact that the drug testing can prove if the person they are hiring is a good person for their business. For an example “Approximately eighty-one percent of companies in the United States administer drug testing to their employees.” Drug testing also proves that people who passes it are clean and responsible people who the company can trust on doing their job well done and showing overall percentage of the US using drug testing (Chodorow). People who cheat on a drug test and gets a job will later ruin their job of getting into accidents during working and or start a fight with the boss or coworkers unknowingly just because they were high on drugs. That is why companies strive to do drug tests every time they hire an employee now due to the fact that they don’t want to be reliable for an employee who isn’t responsible and trustworthy of their time at their company. Which it will affect the company financially once employees gets hurt on their job. An employee who is not a drug abuser can really benefit a company by not causing trouble for themselves getting hurt in the company and also the business not being reliable for anything that is caused by the employee; who was not responsible. Another example is that reports confirm that 80% of those injured in “serious drug related accidents are innocent coworkers.” And after it began requiring accidents drug
...ey to getting a good job, but high school students can’t get their education if they are caught up in doing drugs. Over thirty percent of dropouts in the United States are because of drugs. The thirty percent of drug addict dropouts may never find a job. Thats why it is important for high school drug testing to be enforced among all students. High school drug testing would allow early notice of drug use and allow the school to steer the student into the right path towards success. The drug tests will give students confidence and another reason to say “No” when being peer pressured into trying drugs. Many would argue that drug testings invade their privacy, but with drug usage being at an all time high who can we count on? High schools are made to prepare students for their future, and in order to make the students successful we must allow high school drug testings.
A basic argument for the anti drug testing is the simple fact that random drug testing in schools would be an invasion of privacy. The fourth amendment to our constitution which states “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” was put in place to protect citizens of this country against policies like the random drug tests. Without probable cause there is no need to do random drug tests, what happens to those children who have tried a drug such as “pot” and not liked it. If a random drug test happens to take place within a month of the time that child experimented with the drug, then they will suffer great consequences depending on the rules of that school. I...
Mandatory drug tests have proven to help teenagers reduce the use of drugs and alcohol in their daily lives. If young people get used to it when they are young, it’s proven that they would have a difficult time trying to loss their addiction to the substance. Helps the person without any criminal chargers but with all the help needed. They even have different types of drug tests to show the time period of when the person might have taken a drug recently.