Sunday, January 29, 2006

mandatory drug testing at CBC

I fail to see how this is even a debatable issue.

CBC is a private, Catholic high school here in St. Louis and has every right in the world to set the parameters under which one can attend. Heck, I think public schools should be able to do this. One of the comments by a former student if he wonders if some of the teachers could have passed it in the 70's is a non-factual ad hominem. Furthermore, hypocrisy does not neccessarily make one right. I could kill a man and claim murder is wrong. The fact that I am a hypocrite doesn't all of a sudden make murder right.
For the record, I'm not a huge fan of drug laws. I personally think that a free adult should be able to treat their body the way they way (the old libertarian in me), but I also have seen the corrosive effects drugs have on people and society. I still don't know what is the proper balance between what is proper for the individual and society in regards to drugs.
But, the school feels that drugs are to the detriment of a student (not to mention illegal) and I don't think that any cries of infringment of privacy are valid. They are not prying into every aspect of your life, just a targeted measure to see if you are staying away from a potentially devastating practice.
Finally, for full disclosure, I coach a high school rugby team which has some CBC students on it. We receive no money and have no official offiliation with the school. In other words, I have written this out of personal conviction, not under any pressure or perceived pressure from the school. I talked about it briefly with some of my boys yesterday after a game and I told them what I know to be true when they asked me if I did drugs. I told them that drugs make you stupid and can destroy your personality where all you become is that guy who does drugs. I've seen it happen to many former friends and acquaintences. It is depressing to watch and I say good for CBC for taking a total interest in the development of their students.

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