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ABC Afterschool Specials
S19.E2
All episodesAll
  • Cast & crew
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Testing Dirty

  • Episode aired Oct 18, 1990
  • 1h
IMDb RATING
5.3/10
33
YOUR RATING
ABC Afterschool Specials (1972)
AdventureComedyDrama
Having never used drugs in his life, a teenage boy is shocked to test positive for drugs.Having never used drugs in his life, a teenage boy is shocked to test positive for drugs.Having never used drugs in his life, a teenage boy is shocked to test positive for drugs.
IMDb RATING
5.3/10
33
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Lynn Hamrick
  • Writer
    • Bruce Harmon
  • Stars
    • Christopher Daniel Barnes
    • Lisa Dean Ryan
    • Alley Mills
  • Director
    • Lynn Hamrick
  • Writer
    • Bruce Harmon
  • Stars
    • Christopher Daniel Barnes
    • Lisa Dean Ryan
    • Alley Mills
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 1User review
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win

    Photos

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    Top cast

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    Christopher Daniel Barnes
    Christopher Daniel Barnes
    • Will Hatch
    Lisa Dean Ryan
    Lisa Dean Ryan
    • Carla Daniels
    Alley Mills
    Alley Mills
    • Linda Hatch
    Christopher Rich
    Christopher Rich
    • Coach Stanley Daniels
    Francesca P. Roberts
    Francesca P. Roberts
    • Sally
    Tony Maggio
    Michael Manasseri
    Michael Manasseri
    Matt Adler
    Matt Adler
    • Jay Watson
    Gabriel Bologna
    Gabriel Bologna
    • Student
    Barbara Tarbuck
    Barbara Tarbuck
    Patrick Cronin
    Patrick Cronin
    • Steve
    Steve Lundquist
    A Martinez
    A Martinez
    • Emanuel Jensen
    Sandy Martin
    Sandy Martin
    Mary Pat Gleason
    Mary Pat Gleason
    • Mrs. Rupert
    Adam Sandler
    Adam Sandler
    • Drug Dealer
    Bridgid Coulter
    Bridgid Coulter
    Sylvia Walden
    • Director
      • Lynn Hamrick
    • Writer
      • Bruce Harmon
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Quotes

      [first lines]

      Steve: ...You're sitting on your hands! Nothing is being done, nothing at all! There's a war going on out there. We had a kid from this district die last week from an overdose!

      Jane Horowitz (school board): You make it sound like the school board doesn't see a drug problem. We do. Things aren't going to change until and unless the buyers - our kids - stop buying drugs. That's why we have a drug education program.

      Steve: Drug education isn't good enough, because it sacrifices today's kids for tomorrow's! Our position is very simple: Use drugs, and you're out. Period!

      Jane Horowitz (school board): Are you asking us to test, at random, all our students for drug use?

      Frank Harlan (school board): What should we do about the kids who test positive? How do you propose to help them?

      Mrs. Rupert: Our first priority should be the kids who are clean and struggling to make it. You help them by weeding out the kids who take drugs and/or pressure others to do the same.

      Coach Stanley Daniels: It takes guts to stay clean when all your friends aren't. A school-wide drug test could give non-users just the excuse they need to say no and mean it.

      Mrs. Rupert: While you talk, who's going to save these kids who are being offered drugs from every which way but up?

      School Board #3: The best way to help them is for parents and teachers to learn the signs of drug use and THEN call for a test, if and when they've noticed something suspicious. There are rights issues we have to consider, after all.

      Mrs. Rupert: What rights are violated if lives are saved?

      School Board #3: That's just it: violating legal rights can just as easily destroy lives as save them.

      Jane Horowitz (school board): Steve, how much will these tests cost, and how accurate are they? And how reputable is the lab you're proposing we use?

      School Board #3: Also, if somebody tests positive, who all has access to that information?

      Jane Horowitz (school board): Since there aren't any national regulations yet, let's examine - thoroughly - the new testing program over at the Whitney school district, before acting here.

      Steve: Hey... When your tail's on fire, you don't talk about it! You sit on it, hard! Come on, let's put a drug-testing program in place TONIGHT... before another of our kids dies!

    User reviews1

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    Random Drug Testing In High Schools.
    This was an ABC after-school special and I remember it well. Christopher Daniel Barnes plays a high school athlete who is made the victim of random drug testing at his school. When his test comes out positive for "speed" he is kicked off the athletic team. When word gets around town that he "tested dirty" his girlfriend played by Lisa Dean Ryan is forbidden to by her dad to see him again. Her dad being also the boyfriend of the boy's mother. The boy's mom believes her son when he swears to her he didn't do drugs and it's somehow a mistake.

    It turned out that the reason he tested dirty was due to a false positive on the drug screen due to a cold pill that he had taken days before. The moral of this movie is that random drug screening is wrong. This kind of testing should only be done if there is probable cause, such as evidence that a student may have a drug problem, and not just grabbing students randomly and ordering them to fill the cup so to speak.

    This was a good point that was made in the film. As well intentioned as the principle of random drugs screens in high school may be, it can cause a great deal of harm to an innocent kid and his family, while ignoring another kid who may be drowning in addiction, and the signs are all there but simply ignored due to the fact his drug testing number had not come up yet. Would recommend this film to any teenager who may be interested in this subject, and to any parent who may be interested in learning the facts about this controversial practice.
    helpful•2
    0
    • Goldbear72
    • Jan 2, 2006

    Details

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    • Release date
      • October 18, 1990 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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