-
Related
A drug education provider has proposed a controversial solution to the methamphetamine crisis in New Zealand - random drug testing of students.
Methamphetamine use in New Zealand is estimated to be between three and six percent and a new research paper claims that schools need to be targeted in order to reduce the figures.
However, it's not just drug education that the paper points to.
The Methcon research is pushing for compulsory random drug testing in state secondary schools.
The study says to stop Class A drug abuse, other drugs such as cannabis also need to be stamped out.
The proposal would see random testing of students involved in extracurricular activities like the school band.
But some say it's out of tune with young people's rights.
"It seems a gross invasion of their privacy and their civil liberties," says Brent Lewis, Principal of Avondale College. "I think to trap all those good students who we deal with every day into having their bodily substances tested seems bizarre to me."
But a former school trustee and lawyer backs the proposal.
"The safety and welfare of children are far more important than the issue of civil liberties," says Jon Olphert, lawyer.
The suggestion is for students who test positive for drugs to be helped, not punished.
But a recent Australian study found the benefits of school drug testing is inconclusive.
One Upper Hutt College student told ONE News "there are lots of kids at our school who I would guess were affected by drugs" while another said "you would be surprised by how many people would be caught".
