“Middle Schooler Forced to Take Drug Test to Join Scrapbooking Club”

“States with middle schools that conduct drug testing include Florida, Alabama, Missouri, West Virginia, Arkansas, Ohio, New Jersey and Texas,” as well as Pennsylvania, where the 12 year old girl in question was attending public school in Milford when subjected to the condition. [New York Times via Nick Gillespie, Reason]

From the comments: “Members of Congress, however, are not required to take such a test, as they work at less-critical tasks.” [ras]

11 Comments

  • 12 year-olds? why stop there? my 8 month old is obviously abusing drugs. he laughs at shiny objects; stares at his hands for long moments of time; poops himself frequently; speaks mostly in nonsensical gibberish; can’t walk more than a few steps without falling over; watches same damn spongebob cd over and over.

    the yearly $5000 – $7000 figure seems suspiciously low for quality urine testing of anything beyond opiates (don’t think steroids is included at this stage) when you figure in administrative costs, collection costs, medical review costs, etc. so this whole thing smacks of being nothing more than a convoluted deterrent. also, how long until we find out about school board members pushing this on middle-schoolers with cries of ‘think of the children’ that have spouses or family members that profit from drug-testing, either directly via the company or on the supply-side of things?

  • drug abuse, particularly performance enhancing substances, in scrapbooking circles has become a huge problem, If schools are to maintain a level playing field for all participants, drug testing must become mandatory. I don’t see what the problem is.

  • Members of Congress, however, are not required to take such a test, as they work at less-critical tasks.

  • When I was a kid we used to have to say the Pledge of Allegiance. Now it seems there’s a new loyalty oath.

  • ps:

    You broke my sarcasm meter. And I just had it calibrated.

    You will be hearing from my lawyer.

  • Maybe authorities fear stoners would be tearing pages out of scrapbooks to roll them into joints.

  • Especially any scrapbook or yearbook made before 1985; isn’t there supposed to be lead in those or something that requires testing?

  • Good one Melvin. Lead paint. How silly. What a fun thing to joke about. Sure, it has caused brain damages to thousands of American children. But good for you not letting that stop you from eating at the comedy candy store that is lead pain poisoning.

  • Ron Miller –

    Perhaps you should take a looksie at the what is currently the newest post on this site, as it pretty much says it all as a reply to your overt ‘political act.’

  • I suspect more readers would join in Ron’s that’s-not-funny reaction if Melvin had been joking about a source of environmental lead that actually did cause documented illness, such as old paint on walls. His reference was instead to CPSIA’s coverage of books, never so linked. Perhaps it is still OK to joke about unharmful things that are foolishly regulated as if they were harmful?

  • No, certainly books aren’t linked and I’m sure there is overreaction to small amounts of lead. Still, let’s respect the idea that thousands of children have suffered and will suffer from brain damage from lead based paint which means if you are going to make a joke about it, please make it in context for crying out loud. So, yeah, I still find his pulled out of the sky dumb joke worthy of mockery..

    Not for nothing, I DEFENDED in another life scores of slum landlords in lead based paint brain injury claims. I’ve seen the injuries up close.