The Education Minister does not believe schools are ready for drug testing

Beautiful designs that cannot be put into practice are of no use to anyone. The Minister of Education Ligia Deca believes that the vast majority of schools, with the current infrastructure, do not have everything they need to do drug testing. Ligia Deca is of the opinion that there must be an affordable national testing program: "I think there must be an affordable national program (drug testing - n.r.) for testing. If there is suspicions that a child, in a situation of vulnerability, of dependency, can be tested with the consent of the parents or of him, if he is of age, where we generally do analyses. I think that there must be this state investment in testing to be able to treat and to be able to prevent. I don't think that the schools, with the current infrastructure, have everything they need to be able to do testing in the school. I think that other areas are more suitable." The official emphasized that the fight against drugs is long-lasting and involves efforts and entities. Deca also said that the school remains an ally in terms of explaining the effects of addiction: "However, as we have seen, the fight against drugs is a long-term fight and involves many component efforts, entities. What I can say is that the school remains a ally especially through the prism of explaining the effects of addiction. We tried to expand this education and be an education in the sense that we also have to look at the causes. That is, the consumption of prohibited substances intervenes in a certain mental health fund, of lack of alternatives". Until the national program appears, the problems exist and must be solved one way or another.