This entry is by Melanie Petrandis, who interned with the Office of National Affairs in Fall 2007 and also attended the International Drug Policy Reform Conference in New Orleans. Prior to working with DPA, Melanie completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Central Florida.


On January 29th, I attended the ONDCP random student drug testing summit in Jacksonville and met up with other activists to spread the word about how random student drug testing is unsupported by scientific research and often counterproductive. It was a successful day, despite the fact that within ten minutes of being there we were called "druggies" ("good looking druggies" to be more specific).

We set up a table outside of the room with DPA's booklets, including "Saying No to Student Drug Testing: Why Educators Are Saying No", and articles about how two counties in Florida recently turned down hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal funding to start random student drug testing programs at their schools.

I knew it was going to be a challenge to sit through hours of propaganda, when Bertha K. Madras, the deputy director of ONDCP, made a speech that focused primarily on the "dangers" of marijuana, claiming its use leads to "bad grades and stealing" along with a handful of other terrible consequences. I wanted to scream "Correlation does not equal causation!" (And it was hard for me to believe there was even a correlation with the majority of the things she was saying).

But, if anything, this misinformation motivated us even more to reach people. Many of the educators came to the summit with an open mind, and were interested in hearing what we had to say. The audience was allowed to write questions on cards that were read by ONDCP staff to the speakers, but not many of our questions were asked. I was disappointed, though certainly not surprised, considering I asked questions like "Why do many adolescent health groups oppose random student drug testing?"

Of course, a question was read that went along the lines of "Can you address the fact that there are pro drug groups here..." I also tried raising my hand a couple times towards the end of the speeches when my questions weren't read, but was not called on.

Nonetheless, we made sure every person there received a copy of our information, and started conversations with many teachers, counselors, and coaches. There is nothing more fulfilling than talking to people about an issue you are passionate about, and having them actually listen. I was interviewed by a Jacksonville radio station, who overheard my conversation with a strong supporter of student drug testing.

I explained that RSDT isn't as confidential as ONDCP makes it out to be, since students and teachers can figure out easily why students become suspended from extra curricular activities. I informed him that there is no sound scientific research supporting this, and it is potentially counterproductive in the sense that staying in extracurricular activities often helps prevent drug abuse.

At the end of the day, Bertha asked the audience if they felt like they had learned a lot from the summit. Only a few raised their hands, and I could feel the skepticism in the air. Skepticism had never felt so good.

Here are some quotes from the Summit I'll Always Remember (Unfortunately)

"Fear in the mind of teenagers is a beautiful thing"- Christina Steffner, principal of Hunterdon Central Regional High School

"Random Student Drug Tests are random acts of kindness." - ONDCP staff