DRUG TESTING IN MIDDLE SCHOOL
One of the most frequent topics in The United States has to do with the use of illicit drugs. Drug abuse is a huge problem in the United States and throughout the world. Each year more and more adolescents become addicted to drugs. All middle schoolers should get drug tested and should be able to see the consequences of how it can damage their lives. Drug abuse has caused many different problems such as brain development, health issues (mental), unwanted pregnancy, and family break ups. Drug abuse is a social and cultural problem not only affecting past generations but is now affecting middle schoolers that are not been caught on time. I am in favor of the school system administering drug test in an effort to keep students away from drugs at an early age. Young generations that use illicit drugs keep it as a secret and do not consider a problem, just a part of life. Adolescents, who have started to take drugs have opportunities to intervene and seek treatments with professionals to remove this awful addition.

One reason to keep kids off drugs is brain development. Substance use during adolescence has been associated with alterations in brain structure. The primary purpose of drug testing is not to punish students who already use drugs but to prevent drug abuse and to help students using become drug free. While the developing brain may be more resilient to neurotoxic effects, exposure to drugs during a period of critical neurological development may interrupt the natural course of brain maturation and key processes of brain development. A lot of people will say that interferes with one’s privacy but is not too invasive. We must realize that safety and health are much more important than privacy. In fact, adolescence may be a period of vulnerability for drugs effect on the brain. Cognitive deficits resulting from these alcohol and drug related neural insults have potentially harmful implications for subsequent academic, occupational, and social functioning extending into adulthood. According to the national institute on drug abuse, in 2013 there was an estimate of 4.3 million Americans of age 12 and older who had used illicit drugs in a specific month. The statistics shows that middle schoolers are easily getting drugs and concern me enormously for today and future generations. Therefore, teens are in higher risk of consuming drugs if they are not caught on time. The parents and school system should find a way or middle schoolers to avoid the use of drugs, and a potential method would be drug tests in middle school.

Another reason why middle schoolers be drugs test is the cause of health issues on the long run. Drug abuse at any age can cause serious health effects, but teens who abuse drugs are at particular risk for negative consequences. Teens who abuse drugs are more likely to struggle with addiction later in life and have permanent and irreversible brain damage.