Drug Testing Drug testing in the United States began with the explosive use of illegal drugs, in order to curb drug abuse. This began during the Vietnam War with drug use at a climax. In general, Drug testing is a way to detect illegal drug use and deter it, usually by Urinalysis. Drug testing in the United States violates a citizen’s right to unreasonable search and seizure’s along with jeopardizing one’s freedom. Furthermore, Drug testing is not only an unreliable invasion of a person’s privacy but it assumes that one is guilty before submitting to the test. Drug testing began to take place in the mid 1960’s when drugs like Marijuana, hallucinogens and other drugs were becoming widespread (Stencel, pp.201). The military implemented mandatory drug testing because of the widespread use and the number of Vets that were returning home because of addiction. Ronald Reagan pushed for employers to implement drug testing and even had himself screened for illegal drugs to encourage employers and to reduce opposition to testing (Stencel, pp. 200). “The increased concern about drug abuse has, in part, been the result of the early 1986 appearance on the streets of crack-a new, powerfully addictive form of cocaine-and the growth of cocaine addiction” (Berger, 12). President Reagan later called for a second “war on drugs” campaign. In October of 1986, President Reagan signed into law a 1.7 billion dollar anti-drug bill, called the “Drug-Free Workplace Order”. In addition to the bill, Reagan instructed his cabinet officers to create a plan to begin drug testing for federal civil employees (Berger, 14). Drug testing thus begun a sharp climb into the area of private employers. In November of 1988 Congress passed an Act requiring grant recipients or federal contractors to maintain drug-free workplaces. Most of the employers set up voluntary testing programs and many empl...
