Drug testing nowadays seems quite commonplace. Lots of people have to take drug tests before they are hired onto a position, and many schools are implementing different types of drug testing programs as an effort to combat youth drug usage. Despite this trend, there was once a time where drug testing programs like these weren’t so common, and up until the 1970s, drug testing was fairly limited. During the 1960s, drug usage started to increase, and it became a sign of rebellion, especially within the younger generations. This raised many concerns, and eventually President Richard Nixon declared a “war on drugs” in mid-1971. During this period, drug usage was heavily criminalized, and incarceration rose at alarming rates. Hysteria ensued, and many drug resistance …show more content…
Such wild fear isn’t as prevalent today as it was back then, but the lasting effects of the “war on drugs” can still be seen. Not only has drug usage become a very controversial topic, but the constitutionality of drug testing has been debated for many years. The controversy over drug testing has been strong enough to take it to the Supreme Court many times, and yet many cases uphold and serve as examples to others the constitutionality of drug testing . One of the more popular examples of this situation in action is the case, Vernonia v. Acton of 1995, which included the Vernonia School District of Vernonia, Oregon and the Acton family. Like other similar cases, some investigation found that there was a high rate of drug use within the student population in Vernonia. The district’s officials were scared that this drug use was leading to a higher rate of