Public concern about use of drugs by young people in the United States remains high and efforts to counter drug abuse through education and intervention continue. While drug testing of athletes at the collegiate level is fairly common, legal restraints make testing less common at the secondary school level. After citing numerous statistics regarding the extent of drug use by young people, this article explores constitutional aspects of drug testing in the public school, testing techniques and procedures, and implications of several major Supreme Court decisions. Criteria for upholding suspicionless searches which lower courts have drawn from these decisions are discussed in detail. These criteria are: (1) Compelling Need; (2) Limited Scope/Achievable Goals; (3) Less Intrusive Alternatives; (4) Diminished Expectations of Privacy; (5) Limitations on Officials' Discretion; and (6) The Result of Positive Test Findings. Finally, a 1994 Supreme Court decision is reviewed in which it was ruled that drug testing programs that can be justified as needed to meet a specific, localized drug use problem are constitutional. Contains 20 endnotes. (RB)