EDITORIAL - Drug test

Starting this month, the Commission of Higher Education will implement a random drug test in public and private universities in Central Visayas. A report said at least 30 college students per school will undergo the test, which will be held from the last week of February to the first week of March.

The drug testing is mandated by the law as a measure against the illegal drug trade. Under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, college students shall undergo the drug testing with the cost to be shouldered by the government.

Drug testing is also contained in the students’ handbook. The move is part of the Department of Education’s drive to help authorities stamp out the illegal drugs in schools across the country.    

It is undeniable that the drug trade has already penetrated different colleges and universities in the country. In fact, the drug menace has even infiltrated the elementary and high school. 

Government data showed that majority of the illegal drug victims are students. One reason is that they helplessly succumb to pressures from classmates and friends.  

Besides, students harbor a very active lifestyle that the need to take drugs seems inevitable. So it is among the students that authorities should concentrate in their campaign against illegal drugs.

We view the implementation of the random drug testing among students as an effective way to combat the menace that is now slowly penetrating the system that serves as springboard for the youth in their quest for a better tomorrow.

It is certainly a way of sending a message to students that the effects of drugs cannot only be measured physically. The mental effects have far more consequences as they enable the victims to lose their ability to face the future.  

But for as long the students’ rights are not violated, the random drug testing could be the start of a more serious approach in the drive against illegal drugs.