Drug Testing Facts

Drug testing fact : is it ethical?

The root question that arises when contemplating drug testing fact can be, is it ethical? Unfortunately, ethics are a murky matter, with little black and white but plenty of grey. And drug testing seems to encompass all shades.

A number of questions surface when the topic of drug testing is approached - the main issue being, does drug testing really contribute to the greater good of society? Or is it an imposition on individual rights? Drug testing fact: the White House Office on National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) reports drug abuse cost society about $160.7 billion in 2000 in lost productivity, treatment, etc. If drug testing eradicated this debt, would society be the better for it?

There has been discussion about how drug testing violates the Fourth Amendment, which guarantees Americans the right to "be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches." Of course, supporters of drug testing claim that the framers of the Fourth Amendment had no idea drug use would be what it is today. Civil liberties organizations, on the other hand, see it as a blatant offense.

Drug testing is legal in the workplace. According to the ONDCP, a study in 2002 found that 74.6 percent of illicit drug users were employed full or part time. Perhaps drug testing could weed out the abusers - but on the other hand, if you refuse to test, you are immediately considered 'guilty until proven innocent' and fired.

Drug testing is routine in sports - major league and Olympic. Is it ethical to place unrealistic demands on athletes? But is it ethical for athletes, famed and revered for their skill, to rely on drugs in order to submit world-class performances?

Drug testing is legal in schools. A study referenced in a Michigan State Law Review states that in 1997, 42 percent of twelfth-graders reported using illicit drugs. But is broad, 'suspicion-less' testing of students effective? Is it ethical?

Where does it end? Who should know what you put into your body? Will insurance companies one day be allowed to test their clients in order to set higher premiums? Even refuse to cover those who use illegal drugs? Or who smoke or drink?

Should people be able to consume whatever they want? Or should it stop when such 'reckless behavior' affects the overall productivity of a business, the learning environment of a school, or the integrity and success of athletics?

Where does individual responsibility end. and state watch dogging begin?

New Zealand Drug Testing Information