High Schools, and Polls and Steroid Tests!! OH MY!!

I've posted some survey and poll numbers here from newspapers around the country regarding the steroid issue at the high school level. My thought and comments follow in BOLD (CAPS). Any resemblance to the IM convention of putting words into all - caps as a sign of anger is purely coincidental. ;) - CS

Today, more and more school districts consider steroid tests to combat the problem of use of performance-enhancing drugs by athletes.

Fourth Amendment's prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures affords students privacy protections, and to get around that school districts often send the results only to parents or the student's doctor.

However, two U.S. Supreme Court decisions, one in 1995 and another in 2002, paved the way for districts to be able to drug-test despite concerns they are unjustified invasions of privacy.




In a survey of students done for the California Interscholastic Federation in March 2004, 11 percent of boys, 42,032 student athletes, and 5 percent of girls, 13,711 student athletes, admitted taking performance-enhancing drugs or
supplements.

5% GIRLS - 11% BOYS TAKE PED'S OR SUPPLEMENTS - DOESN'T ADDING THE CAVEAT "OR SUPPLEMENT" MAKE THE RESULTS SEEM UNBELIEVABLY AND ABSURDLY LOW. - CS


From Maryland's Carroll County Times survey, where roughly 1 in 6 athletes said they knew of steroid use:

Five years ago, the Times conducted a survey with 88 first-team all-county athletes from the spring season. We asked the athletes a "yes or no" question -- if they had any knowledge of prep athletes taking steroids, and 14 of them said yes.


So roughly one out of every six all-county kids from that spring knew of someone who was abusing steroids while participating in athletics.

ONE IN SIX KIDS "KNEW OF" SOMEONE WHO WAS TAKING STEROIDS? DOESN'T THAT SEEM RIDICULOUSLY LOW? ANY TEAM I'VE EVER PLAYED ON IT WOULD SEEM LIKE THE NUMBER SHOULD BE PRETTY CLOSE TO 100% KNEW OF, WITH THE ONES ANSWERING NO SUSPECTED OF BEING PARANOID OF GIVING UP THE COVER-UP BY ANSWERING THE QUESTION POSITIVELY - CS


New Jersey recently became the first state to test prep athletes for steroid abuse, and the latest results showed no positives out of 150 tests.

OH FOR 150. AND FROM A POOL OF PLAYERS MOST LIKELY TO TEST POSITIVE, THE WINNERS AND CHAMPS - CS

National studies have shown 2 percent of teenagers use steroids before they graduate.

2%, 2% ALL THIS FOR 2%? I'D LIKE IT TO BE ZERO ALSO, BUT THE NUMBERS ARE ALL OVER THE YARD ON THIS ISSUE, AND YET WE'RE MAKING POLICY DECISIONS BASED ON THE HIGHEST NUMBER, AS IF THAT MUST BE THE MOST ACCURATE. SEEMS LIKE A RATHER SILLY PREMISE, BUT THAT'S YOUR TAX DOLLARS AND GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AT WORK. BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE SAME PEOPLE WHO GAVE YOU THE DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES AND $500 TOILET SEATS. -CS