New Jersey Government to Drug Test Our Children
Government Intrudes a Little Further Into Privacy
The state of New Jersey is about to enact a policy to drug test all high school athletes. This will be the first statewide drug test program in the nation.
This policy
would bar high school athletes from competing unless they and their parents agree to random tests.
Is it government’s role to drug test children who play in games?
While no one, I suspect, would advocate drug use among children, is this policy needed?
Proponents will speak of steroids and public health concerns. With Mr. Bonds on the precepice of surpassing baseball great Babe Ruth on the home run charts, steroids are very much en vogue. But Bonds’ apparent cheating aside, what gives the state the right to randomly test anyone who participates in sports? This is very much a guilt by association.
Last week British rocker Pete Doherty was arrested after photographs of him injecting an unconscious female with heroine were published. Shall we use that as the reasoning to drug test all high school band members?
The proposed policy intrudes into an arena that government does not belong. It is the family’s responsibility to monitor a child’s behavior. Unless there is evidence that leads a school to suspect someone of a crime, I think it is overstepping its purview for the government to drug test children.
Yes, I know there are court cases providing for this. It still does not make it government’s role. When are we going to say that government cannot do it all?
Think of the line item in the budget to pay for this new venture. How much will New Jersey citizens pay to test whether or not the girls on the volleyball team are juicing? Is this where the public wants government to trespass?
Also blogged on this date . . .
- We Paid $200,000 For This? - 2008
- Dear Reader, The Next President of the United States - 2007
- Discussion Boards - 2007
- "Do you feel Geocaching has changed over the years?, For better or for worse?" - 2007
- GeoCarnival #6 - 2006
- Who Wants Some Tickets? - 2006
- Harleigh Cemetery Maps - 2006
- Stalkers, Corzine, and Reasonableness - 2006
- Pitching Inside - 2005
- Michelle Shocked & The Mood Swingers - 2000
Tags: government, New Jersey, tax