Schools to start testing athletes for steroid use, By: Danielle Deaver
$800,000 grant will help expand existing drug-testing program
April 1, 2006
Beginning Monday, some student athletes in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school system will be pulled out of class, handed a cup and pointed to a restroom - but not for the typical drug test.
The school system is using an $800,000 grant from the Office of National Drug Control Policy to expand its drug-testing program to include testing for steroids. The grant money will be spread out over four years.
"I think it's an opportunity for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County to see what percentage of students test positive. It may be that none of them do, or it may be higher than we think," said Mina Cook of Unlimited Success, a division of the Partnership for a Drug-Free N.C. The school system hired the partnership to do the drug testing.
Concern about steroid use by professional athletes has been growing for years. This week, Major League Baseball said that it was hiring George Mitchell, a former U.S. senator, to investigate possible past steroid use by players. The move came after a new book alleged that Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants, who is challenging the home-run marks of Babe Ruth and Henry Aaron, and other players used steroids. Bonds has denied the allegations.
School officials said they want to make sure that students do not copy the habits of professional baseball players.
So far, students don't seem concerned about the idea of steroid testing, said David Small, an assistant principal at Reynolds High School. He said he doesn't expect to see many positive test results, if any. "I don't think it's a big fad, that everybody is doing it," he said.
In 2004-05, the school system randomly tested 30 percent of students involved in extracurricular activities and sports for drugs, or a total of 2,398 students.
The steroid testing will be administered to a smaller percentage of athletes. Students will be told which test they are being given, and results are expected to be available in seven to 10 days.
In the first year of the program, 4.6 percent of students tested positive for drugs. Five years later, in 2004-05, the number dropped to 2.9 percent, or fewer than 10 students.
Students who test positive for steroids will be offered the same deal that students who test positive for other drugs get. The students can choose to enter an intervention program, or they must give up all extracurricular sports and activities.
The grant that provided money for the steroid testing also gave the school system money to add two counseling positions that have seemingly already helped students.
"In the past, even though it was available, less than a third of the families followed through with the interventions," Cook said. Now, after speaking with one of the new counselors, about three-quarters of families choose the intervention, she said.
Counseling for students who test positive for steroids will be different than that of other drugs, she said.
"The curriculum's going to focus more on self-image, body image, because obviously the user's not using them to get a euphoric high," Cook said. "They're using them to change the way their body looks and body functions."
