British School Begins the New Year with Random Drug Testing

On January 5, The Abbey School in Kent, a school in Southeast England with students ranging in age from 11 to 19, implemented a new antidrug campaign which will allow random student drug testing.  20 students of the school's 960 will be randomly selected by a computer to have mouth swabs taken to detect cannabis, speed, ecstasy, heroin and cocaine.  According to Peter Walker, the school's Head Teacher, students will not be tested against their will, and those testing positive will not be expelled with the exception of those found to be drug dealers.  Walker told BBC reporters that 85% of parents agreed for their children to be tested, because government antidrug initiatives have been ineffective in preventing youth drug use.  MSNBC reports: "Figures on the Home Office Web site, the latest available, say that for the year ending in March 2003, drug offenses recorded by police rose 16% over the previous year to 141,116," although officials believe the dramatic incline is a consequence of increased police activity. More... [Mark Godsey]