Members of a Washington drug-free youth organization have volunteered to be tested for illicit drugs in exchange for discount cards good at local stores and restaurants, the Spokane Spokesman-Review reported April 3.

Sixteen hundred members of the Washington Drug-Free Youth Program, part of the Greater Spokane Substance Abuse Council, have signed up for random drug testing at school. Student Alicia Fox, 17, said being part of the group "makes life a lot simpler and it gives you a reason to remain drug free."

But Fox said the drug-testing program should remain voluntary. "I don't think it should be mandatory because I think it's all right to have that privacy and I don't think it's the school's priority," she said. Spokane Public Schools officials agree, saying testing should be a decision made by students and their parents.

Chuck Fillippi, a faculty advisor to the group Students Against Destructive Decisions at North Central High School, said that taking part in drug-free groups looks good on students' transcripts. "These are cream of the crop kids," he said. "They're moving up the ladder and they use our program to stay clean and do the right things."