Lawmakers OK steroids testing for high school athletes

[tvc184]

haha exactly.... they would be able to regulate it to an extent... they would just tax the crap out of it untill its too expensive for the average person to indulge in... THEN.. people would just grow it and sell it without concent of the gov.... but thats basically what people do anyways so this argument is pointless...

But then it becomes a bootleg item and the penalties for bootlegging/not paying taxes are MUCH higher than any penalties for marijuana. You would have the IRS down on you instead of the local PoPo.

[KFDM COOP]

Steroid screening inconclusive at Cy-Fair schools

Effectiveness in doubt in large-district program

If Cypress-Fairbanks' first year of random drug screening for athletes is any indication, Texas' impending foray into the steroid-testing business isn't likely to catch many cheaters.

Of the 303 students who tested positive for drugs last school year, more than 85 percent had marijuana in their system; none were found to have taken steroids. Cy-Fair is the largest Houston-area school district to impose mandatory drug testing on students in all competitive activities, from drama club to track.

The district released the numbers just as Gov. Rick Perry considers signing legislation requiring random steroid testing for all high school athletes.

Lawmakers hope the $3 million annual effort will rein in what Lt. Gov David Dewhurst has called "a real problem" in Texas schools.

A 2004 state survey of drug use estimated that about 2 percent of children in seventh to 12th grades use steroids; among athletes, the propensity was higher.

Yet schools already testing for anabolic steroids aren't uncovering widespread problems. According to the University Interscholastic League, which surveys the approximately 130 Texas schools with steroid-testing programs, none reported use among their students last year. The year before only one student tested positive for steroids, the survey showed.

Experts say other issues, including the evasive quality of performance-enhancing drugs and the fact that many schools don't focus just on athletes for their steroid testing programs, could contribute to the low number of positives. In Cy-Fair, for example, a student on the debate team was just as likely to be tested for steroids as a football player.

The UIL will run the new statewide steroid-testing program, which, if approved, would start in time for football seasons this fall.

In Cypress-Fairbanks, performance-enhancing drugs were such a nonissue that the district cut the number of students screened for steroids early in the program. The first two months of this school year, all 2,534 students randomly selected for testing were screened for steroids and other drugs. But starting in October, officials looked for steroids in only about 35 percent of the remaining 6,200 or so teens tested.

Reasons for results

Kelli Durham, a Cy-Fair spokeswoman, said her district saved money and tested more students by limiting the number of more expensive steroid screenings.

"It's beneficial to increase participation," she said. "The larger number of students participating, the more likely it will have a positive effect as a deterrent to taking drugs."

Frank Uryasz, president of the National Center for Drug Free Sport, said there is little research on steroid-testing programs for high school students.

If districts such as Cypress-Fairbanks aren't finding the drug, he said, it could be that the testing program is actually working as a deterrent.

Another, less optimistic explanation, he said, is that students are taking steroids but the labs used by schools aren't able to detect the ever-changing cadre of drugs on the market. He recommends contracting with one of two national labs certified by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

"New steroids are introduced all the time, and so it's a moving target," said Uryasz, also former director of sports sciences for the National Collegiate Athletic Association. "You are looking for a steroid and something that looks like a steroid, and so this test has to be done in a research laboratory."

He said that schools set on catching steroid users should test athletes more often than other students.

For its drug testing, Cypress-Fairbanks contracts with Forward Edge Inc., which uses a Pasadena laboratory certified through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration but not the anti-doping agency.

Margaret Gilbert, sales director for Forward Edge, said working with the labs recommended by Uryasz could delay results by months.

Lab limitations

All facilities, she said, face difficulties when it comes to testing for steroids among high school students. The Pasadena lab, she said, hires people to troll gyms and other workout centers to keep up with the latest steroid products in the area.

Even then, there are some tests that have come back as "presumptive positives," meaning there appears to be a trace of a steroid in the system, but the lab can't connect it with an actual illegal drug.

Cypress-Fairbanks tested more than 8,700 students, about 61 percent of students involved in competitive extracurricular activities; 3.5 percent tested positive. Older students were more likely to test positive.

Cypress Springs and Langham Creek high schools had the largest percentage of students found using drugs.

So far the district has no hard data showing the program is working. But members of a student advisory panel anecdotally reported a decline in drug use among their peers.

David Raffield, athletic coordinator and head football coach at Cypress Falls High School, said he's also seen a change.

"I think it really cut into the marijuana use in the area because we made a big deal about how long that would stay in your system," he said.

Penalties for a positive

Others have their doubts. Andrew Benson, a graduating senior from Cypress Creek High School who was not tested, said his peers talked a lot about the drug testing the first six months. But by this spring, it was mostly ho-hum.

"I never heard anyone say, 'No, I can't do that because I might get tested,' " said the 18 year old.

Students found with drugs in their system were suspended from competitions or games for three weeks after their first offense. For those testing positive a second time, the punishment was a six-week suspension. A third positive meant no participation in games or competitive events for the rest of the school year. Last year, 40 students tested positive two times; 17 three times.

Cypress-Fairbanks is one of a growing number of districts that has started drug testing since 2003, when the Supreme Court endorsed such programs.

[STiger85]

Just think of this, all the millions of dollars we tax payers give to the illegal immigrants to live in houses in our country. The millions of dollars we tax payers shell out to the illegal immigrants for there health care in our country. The millions of dollars we tax payers hand over to the illegal immigrants because they don't work in our country. They do nothing to earn this, but yet they are given as much American freedom, if not more, than the hard working American has. Here we are giving all our hard earn money (millions & billions of dollars) to illegal immigrants when we have a problem we could be helping with. This is money that we make, this is our social security money, this is our tax money, where ever they can get it, money for our future that is being give by our government to people that don't deserve it. Our children are our future. This is where our money needs to go. But NO! I say yes, test our young, put priorities back in order. We need this money, for our kids sake. They are worth it!!!   

[stang4life]

I would be more pissed if i was a coach about my players smoking cigarettes than weed

Honey, in Coach T's book...any type of drugs would be detrimental to a player's future as a Mustang.  My point earlier was that ALL DRUGS should be tested for.  People tend to minimize steroids, alcohol and marijuana, but any given day...you can look on the internet and find a story about someone somewhere being affected by drugs.  As I stated earlier...test them all for all drugs!!!

[warfan]

We test the workplace for drugs the kids might as well get used to it.  Test for all drugs, all students and teachers.  Do it on a random basis with a stipulation that if someone is suspect they get tested.  Be ready for the lawsuit but in the end we will all be better for it.

[besbolbenbedygud]

I am all for the testing.......but you can almost predict some outlandish law suits that will emerge from this....................like suing for causing a kid not to go to college................. and he would have made it to the pros so we want money for that........etc....etc..........going to be entertaining when it happens......lol

[akifan94]

"I would be more pissed if i was a coach about my players smoking cigarettes than weed"  ~~~~~WOS08

Sounds to me like you like to hit the bong there WOS08, you sure seem to be advocating it.

[BHpawpaw]

I am all for the testing.......but you can almost predict some outlandish law suits that will emerge from this....................like suing for causing a kid not to go to college................. and he would have made it to the pros so we want money for that........etc....etc..........going to be entertaining when it happens......lol

A lawsuit of that kind would never hold up I dont think. If a kid has to take roids to be a standout athlete then they must be average at best without them and not worthy of a acholarship. A hard working natural kid would in turn not be cheated from the next level. I'm all for it, but I would like to see how "random" the tests are. I doubt the significant amount of relevant athletes will ever be tested. We'll see.

[stang4life]

Parents can't sue themselves!!! ;D

Inevitably, there would be some stupid-I-am-my-child's-friend-because-being-his parent-would-make-him-mad-at-me-and-is-much-harder-than-being-his-friend that would try to sue.  Those spineless parents need to take a hard look in the mirror and thank God that their child is still breathing, can still walk and talk.  Most of today's society stem from parents who are "afraid" or too lazy to parent.  They need to know that they are setting them up for failure.

A lawsuit behind this would be total BS.  I am sorry, but little Johnny or Janie (and their "wannabe" parents) are ultimately responsible for "losing out on a scholarship" and possible "professional career".  As I stated before, parents need to grow some and take the responsibility of raising their children to do the right thing seriously.  I also say, find the funds and test ALL ATHLETES...that way "random-ness" wouldn't be a question, but yet the testing would remain fair to all.  If you aren't doing anything wrong, then you shouldn't haven't anything to hide.

[tvc184]

....................like suing for causing a kid not to go to college.................

That is about like saying that the parents are going to sue the cops because their kid got busted for selling dope, ruining his chances for medical school.

I think that is a losing cause and such a lawsuit will never be filed. There may be a lawsuit for privacy rights or something similar but not for a lost opportunity.

[stang4life]

We should hope not.

[besbolbenbedygud]

I never said a law suit like this would stick........I'm just sure there will be some idiot parents that go that route for their "star-roid son"............In today's world it's someone else's fault not their own.........lol

I'm for testing ALL athletes also........random.....shmandom...........get the water boy.......UIL's here again.......LOL

[tvc184]

It won't happen and I don't see how an attorney would try to file such a case. That is ridiculous. A lawyer is going to argue "The student took illegal drugs and you caught him so now you owe him money"? LOL.. right.

I can guess that someone with a positive test might file an injunction to try to stop the results and to get independent testing. You surely won't see an argument that catching my son doing dope ruined his potential career.

[stang4life]

I would certainly hope not...but my thoughts keep going back to that McDonald's lawsuit involving the hot coffee (cringe).  That being said...I'm sure that some of the "friendly-parents" would be attempting to sue.  RIDICULOUS!

[tvc184]

If that is the case then people will soon be suing because the cops allowed their kid to smoke dope. It just won't happen.

Spilling some coffee provided by a vendor and it causes harm is one thing. As goofy as that lawsuit seemed, at least you could point to another person and say that "your product harmed me" so I should have been warned.

Going out and obtaining your own illegal substance and putting it into your body is an entirely different issue as far as blaming someone else unless the student does it with the coaches help or consent. Even then it would not be the positive test that is the issue but the aid of the school district in the drugs.

[77]

Have'nt seen many law suits on the random drug test, this should be no different.

Most of the local players that have used the roids dont even get the big d-1 schools, most end up at junior college or a small div.2 or 3 school that they probably could have played for without the roids. No need to take a chace with your health or your life for that.

[besbolbenbedygud]

Coop has a post about a law suit against a little league coach (posted on the little league thread).......a parent has a sute on the coach and the league because the son broke his leg sliding into second base.............reason..........parent said the son was not properly trained on how to slide into second base.........why would they not find  a reason to sue for this..........and yes i think it's ridicules

[tvc184]

Because it is an injury caused to a kid on their field with their bases doing the damage. You can always make a case for an injury since there is injury to someone that was caused by someone else's property or negligence. Your slick floor caused me to slip. Your baseline was not leveled properly and I fell. Your second base was not anchored correctly and I twisted my ankle. Your ladder was not stable enough....... blah blah blah.

That is a far cry from a kid doing drugs, getting caught and then blaming the people that caught him.

There have been drug tests at businesses for years. I am sure that many people have been fired because of it. Where are the lawsuits?

Now we have NFL players that are banned for a year or more due to positive drug tests. They were not arrested, they just tested positive. They have millions of dollars and the best lawyers money can buy. Where are the lawsuits?

Nope, it just won't wash.

[Tigger]

I'm like alot of parents, I think all athletes should be tested prior to their sport season,but money always is an issue.  I heard this idea tossed around and I'm just wondering what others thought. Don't really know if I agree with it or if it would work. What if only the record breaking athletes and winning district teams were steroid tested just to make sure that the advancements were all clean.  That would save money by not testing them all, and it would elimate the random testing (which is really not random at all because little pumped up Johnny or Sally never seem to have their names pulled for testing if you notice).  It it almost like some schools seem to take the  "if we don't know then we don't have to deal with it" approach.  It is sad that we as parents and schools have had to come to this point of even having this discussion.  If I even had an idea that my son was taking steroids, I would as a parent have him tested.  With all the talk this year, this is one season I was glad my kid is skinny. Maybe just the talk of all around testing will get the few that may be on enhancements to stop. I hope all districts have a clean and safe season for all sports next year.

[stang4life]

Good post, Tigger.  I could go for that idea...test all of the district qualifiers on up.  I would even go as far as testing alternates for various sports. 

My fear is that it will take a local kid dropping dead before many wake up and realize that maybe, just maybe...this issue should have been ADDRESSED and dealt with.

Also, pumping your own self up on steroids is one thing, but it becomes something totally different when you supply it to others.  Hopefully, this will also send a message to those individuals who are selling steroids illegally to anyone...to stop.

[besbolbenbedygud]

For those who think suit's will not happen (tvc)...just type in words like lawsuit and drug testing then add athletes.  took 2 minutes to find this one.......they are already happening..............this particular girl was excused from her team for simply not signing the consent form......................now........is she college material.........was she good enough to continue.........

Again I'm all for the testing.........I'd test my own like some others have stated............reading some of this does raise questions about......."false positives"............I guess as I am for it I'm just playing Devils Advocate.........

US OR: Suit Challenges Student Athlete Drug Testing

URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n1644.a07.html

Newshawk: Terry Liittschwager

Votes: 2

Pubdate: Wed, 01 Nov 2000

Source: Register-Guard, The (OR)

Copyright: 2000 The Register-Guard

Contact: [email protected]

Address: PO Box 10188, Eugene, OR 97440-2188

Website: http://www.registerguard.com/

Author: Randi Bjornstad, The Register-Guard

SUIT CHALLENGES STUDENT ATHLETE DRUG TESTING

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in Lane County Circuit Court on Tuesday, seeking to prevent the Oakridge School District from requiring student athletes to submit to mandatory drug testing in order to participate in school sports.

The suit, filed on behalf of 15-year-old Ginelle Weber, a sophomore at Oakridge High School, claims the district's drug-testing procedures "violate Ginelle's right to be free from unreasonable government searches" guaranteed by the Oregon Constitution.

Weber began playing on her school's volleyball team this fall but said school officials dismissed her from the team two weeks ago after she and her parents, Shannon and John Weber, refused to sign consent forms for her to participate in the drug-testing program.

The Oakridge district signed up earlier this year to participate in a three-year, $3.6 million study called SATURN - Student-Athlete Testing Using Random Notification - in which researchers at the Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland select student athletes at random and without notice and require them to provide urine samples to check for illegal drug or alcohol use.

Curtis Dornath, chairman of the Oakridge School Board, said he knows of no students other than Weber who have refused to sign the consent forms.  "From everything I've heard, 79 of 80 athletes at our school are participating," Dornath said.  "We have no intention of discontinuing the program because of this lawsuit - the board is unanimous, behind this 100 percent."

The SATURN project, which began this fall in about a dozen Oregon school districts, will try to determine scientifically whether random drug testing acts as a deterrent to the use of illegal drugs.

The ACLU filed a lawsuit earlier against the Lincoln County School District, which also joined the program, but that action became moot after OHSU dropped the district from the program, citing as reasons inadequate and inaccurate student response to the initial questionnaire.  Since then, at least one other district has asked to take Lincoln County's place in the program.

Dr.  Linn Goldberg, lead researcher on the project, couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday but has said previously that he and his colleagues "are not drug-testing advocates" but simply want to find out whether the "billions of dollars ( that ) have been spent on mandatory drug testing in government, business, sports and education ...  really result in decreased drug use."

The ACLU believes that the Oregon Constitution protects citizens of the state from "unwarranted search and seizure" of the type represented by mandatory testing of student athletes, said David Fidanque, the organization's state executive director.

"The Constitution says the government can't search citizens without probable cause," Fidanque said at a news conference.  "But this drug-testing program treats everyone as guilty.  This search is very intrusive and very demanding to undergo - it's government requiring an invasive search of young students who haven't done anything wrong."

The ACLU suit isn't the first time the courts have been asked to determine the constitutionality of mandatory drug testing of student athletes.  A student in the Vernonia School District northwest of Portland sued on similar grounds after that district began random testing of its athletes in 1989.  The case ultimately went to the U.S.  Supreme Court, which ruled in 1995 that "deterring drug use by our nation's schoolchildren" justified the drug-testing program.

Testing student athletes for drug use did not violate the Fourth Amendment to the U.S.  Constitution because "school athletes have a reduced expectation of privacy" simply because they choose "to go out for the team," the high court said.  "They voluntarily subject themselves to a degree of regulation even higher than that imposed on students generally."

Fidanque said his lawsuit differs from the Vernonia case because it will be brought in state court and will test the strength of Oregon - not federal - constitutional protections.

"We think the law in Oregon is very clear: Government can't do random searches on the basis that everyone is guilty," he said.  "The specific wording ( in the Oregon Constitution ) is very similar to the federal Constitution, but it has been interpreted by Oregon courts to allow greater protection of citizens."

Becoming the focal point of such a lawsuit doesn't come without its price, a nearly tearful Ginelle Weber acknowledged Tuesday.

"I've been affected quite a bit already," she said.  "I've played ( sports ) at school for years, and I feel that I could be an asset to my team.  Now, I don't know what to do with myself anymore.  I go home and do my homework while all my friends are playing sports."

Nonetheless, she would make the same decision again, Weber said.

"Sports are a big part of my life, but they're only sports," she said.  "I feel it's important to stand up for what you think is right."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk

[fbplayer999]

I'm like alot of parents, I think all athletes should be tested prior to their sport season,but money always is an issue.  I heard this idea tossed around and I'm just wondering what others thought. Don't really know if I agree with it or if it would work. What if only the record breaking athletes and winning district teams were steroid tested just to make sure that the advancements were all clean.  That would save money by not testing them all, and it would elimate the random testing (which is really not random at all because little pumped up Johnny or Sally never seem to have their names pulled for testing if you notice).  It it almost like some schools seem to take the  "if we don't know then we don't have to deal with it" approach.  It is sad that we as parents and schools have had to come to this point of even having this discussion.  If I even had an idea that my son was taking steroids, I would as a parent have him tested.  With all the talk this year, this is one season I was glad my kid is skinny. Maybe just the talk of all around testing will get the few that may be on enhancements to stop. I hope all districts have a clean and safe season for all sports next year.

Don't be happy your son is skinney, get his but in the weight room and start eating.

[tvc184]

Good try anyway besbolbenbedygud. You did not find one that answers my posts but you get an "A" for effort. I said that there is no way to file a successful lawsuit if a student tests positive, thereby denying the student college. These are my posts dealing with positive a test not if the test was legal.

That is about like saying that the parents are going to sue the cops because their kid got busted for selling dope, ruining his chances for medical school.

A lawyer is going to argue "The student took illegal drugs and you caught him so now you owe him money"? LOL.. right.

You surely won't see an argument that catching my son doing dope ruined his potential career.

Going out and obtaining your own illegal substance and putting it into your body is an entirely different issue

That is a far cry from a kid doing drugs, getting caught and then blaming the people that caught him.

Now we have NFL players that are banned for a year or more due to positive drug tests. They were not arrested, they just tested positive.

I did say that there may be a lawsuit for privacy rights five days ago. These are quotes from the lawsuit:

"violate Ginelle's right to be free from unreasonable government searches........it's government requiring an invasive search of young students who haven't done anything wrong".

Oops, the lawsuit says Free From Searches and Invasive Searches, also known as Privacy Rights. That translates to my post of 6-06-07 which addresses a possible lawsuit over privacy rights.

There may be a lawsuit for privacy rights or something similar  but not for a lost opportunity.

There have been and always will be lawsuits over privacy issues. That suit is no different and they have been filed before. There are suits in other areas of privacy such as companies requiring a Polygraph/Lie Detector tests for employment.

The girl in the lawsuit is filing for unlawful searches and invasion of privacy not for testing positive and having her career ruined. I said exactly that five days ago.

When you find one that addresses my posts about a positive test keeping a kid from college, feel free to post it.

[KFDM COOP]

AUSTIN _ The UIL Legislative Council adopted an immediate 30-day calendar suspension with a student's first positive test when statewide random testing begins in September.

The Council passed the penalty phase to follow a recently passed Senate Bill 8, which requires testing. The Council will reconsider the penalty structure at its next meeting in October.

Concerns were that a 30-day period wasn't a strong enough deterrent. And that a 30-day calendar period could unevenly effect student whose sports weren't in immediate season.

The NCAA changed its penalty structure to a calendar year after beginning with a 30-day suspension. A second positive results in a year suspension and a third in a permanent ban from participation.

The Texas State Legislature passed the first statewide random testing in May. New Jersey does random testing after championships but UIL officials believe that steroid testing at a specific time would allow students to "beat" a test by clearing it from their system.

The UIL will set specifications for what will be a $6 million, two-year contract with a steroid testing provider and the UIL wants part of the bidding process to include fair methods for random tests of more than 20,000 students.

[besbolbenbedygud]

I never said or tried to answer your post directly...........My intent was to say parents or what we are calling "friendly parents" would find a way.........My opinion is that it can happen and probably will.......I understand you think it wont stand but I think no matter how outlandish.....it could possibly be heard in the court.....OJ walked anything can happen.......lol

{todays world it's always someone else's fault}

In this case the Pan Am games= High School

and missing the Olympics = College

Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Swimmer Wins Lawsuit Against Vitamin Maker for Positive Drug Test

A jury in California has awarded nearly $600,000 to a competitive swimmer who claims that a contaminated multivitamin led to a positive drug test and a suspension from the sport. Kicker Vencill tested positive for the prohibited substance 19-norandrosterone in an out-of-competition drug test in January 2003. He immediately suspected the vitamins might be to blame and a private lab confirmed the suspicion. But the US Anti-Doping Agency, which cannot always distinguish how a drug entered the body, has a zero-tolerance policy: athletes are responsible for everything that enters their bodies. Thus, it handed down a 2-year suspension which caused Vencill to miss the 2003 Pan-American Games and a shot at the 2004 Olympics.

Vencill's suit Ultimate Nutrition, the maker of the multivitamin, is believed to be the first of its kind, but will not be the last. Officials say that otherwise benign supplements can be contaminated in several ways. Supplement manufacturers, who operate largely unregulated, might unknowingly buy tainted ingredients from overseas. Or they might make a range of products, including powders or drinks that feature steroid precursors. If the vats aren't thoroughly cleaned, residue from the previous muscle powder can taint the next batch of vitamins down the line.

(Wharton, "Verdict for swimmer could be a test case," LA Times, 05/13/05). Now, the supplement manufacturers may have the incentives needed to ensure that only the proper ingredients make it into its products. This is good, because it should protect the consumer from ingesting drugs he does not know he is taking. But, this has introduced a new lawsuit to the world, and you can expect every athlete with a positive test to now find some supplement manufacturer (or several) to sue. The expense could prove too burdensome for the companies, some of which make valuable drugs for medical (and not athletic) purposes.

-- Posted by Greg @ 5/17/2005 08:33:00 AM -- Comments (4) -- Post a Comment

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