In an attempt to examine the effectiveness of drug testing, James and Moore studied 296 adolescents who had established drug or alcohol problems attending a treatment centre.7 Drug testing was an effective tool in helping to prescribe appropriate treatment strategies for these young people with pre-existing drug problems. The authors concluded that strategic and focused testing via urine tests could bring about behavioural change, although it is unwise to generalise this specific situation to that of a large school where only a small proportion of the pupils will have problems with drug or alcohol misuse.