A dilemma over drug testing

Inter Lake editorial

A vigorous community debate has been joined in Whitefish over drug and alcohol use by students and what should be done about it.

At the heart of the discussions is a proposal that, if approved by the Whitefish School Board, would require urinalysis testing of all students participating in extracurricular activities. These students also would have to submit to random drug testing throughout the season.

That possibility has proven both emotional and controversial, drawing praise and criticism from parents, counselors and other Whitefish citizens.

That Whitefish High School has a drug problem apparently is not in doubt.

Drug- and alcohol-related infractions are double what they were last year at the school.

According to one estimate, one-third of Whitefish High School students had used marijuana in the 30 days prior to a survey. That's 13 percent above the state average and "way too many," according to the director of Whitefish CARE.

Those are the kinds of numbers that have raised alarms and prompted the push for drug testing.

Beyond the suggestion for mandatory testing, other alternatives have been proposed, including suspicion-based testing or voluntary random testing.

The more Whitefish delves into the issue, the more questions arise: Whether testing should be voluntary or mandatory, whether more than just students in extracurricular activities should be tested, whether testing really works, and on and on.

It also raises a whole host of legal obstacles and considerations. Privacy rights, civil liberties, personal freedom and equal treatment are all part of the mix.

Some people even question whether the schools, rather than parents, should even be involved to this extent in policing drug use.

And an underlying premise of the drug-testing plan is that it must be paired with treatment and education to truly be effective.

Obviously, this is a challenge with no easy solutions.

The first step in addressing the problem is a community dialogue.

And judging from the hundreds of people attending community meetings on the issue (and the expected turnout when the school board takes up the issue again on May 13), that dialogue is well under way.

One comment made at a recent school board meeting perhaps encapsulates the situation: If it's decided not to do drug testing, that's fine - but something has to be done to address the drug situation in Whitefish.