STUDY WILL ASK IF TESTING CURBS TEEN DRUG ABUSE

A three-year OHSU project will look at the effect of random drug tests
involving athletes at several Oregon high schools

In the first research project of its kind, Oregon Health Sciences
University will launch a three-year study this fall to discover if drug
testing of high school athletes discourages substance abuse.

The study, financed by a $3.6 million grant from the National Institutes of
Health, will involve 18 Oregon high schools, from Sherman County in the
high desert to Astoria and Newport on the coast.

Student athletes at nine schools will face random drug tests; the other
nine schools will serve as a control. Athletes will complete surveys so
researchers can gauge drug testing's impact on teen-age behaviors and
attitudes.

The research comes at a time when high schools nationally have implemented
mandatory drug testing for athletes despite concerns about privacy and
constitutional rights.

"I don't know if drug testing works," said Dr. Linn Goldberg, a professor
of medicine at OHSU and the study's principal investigator. "No one knows;
it's never been looked at. That's why we are doing this study."

Five years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court opened the door for high school drug
testing when it upheld a policy in Vernonia. The logging town 45 miles west
of Portland began testing urine samples from middle school and high school
athletes in 1989.

"Our kids became overt about it," said Randall Aultman, then principal at
Vernonia high.

Two football players later admitted playing in a 1988 game while high on
methamphetamines. The disclosure provided momentum for a radical approach.

The district began testing with little dissent among parents. Athletes were
tested at the start of a season and then randomly. Results were
confidential, and athletes who tested positive were given a choice of
suspension or treatment.

Vernonia focused on sports because of a safety concern, although Goldberg
says research indicates athletes are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol
than nonathletes.

In 1991, James Acton, a prospective Vernonia middle school football player,
sued the district, claiming the policy violated his Fourth Amendment rights
to privacy. The school district won in federal court but lost before the
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In 1995, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed
the appellate court. School officials today say the program has curbed drug
use.

"We feel it has an effect on kids," said Mike Durbin, the current
principal. "Not only does it keep them away from drugs, it gives them a
real reason to say no when peer pressure comes into play."

A nationwide impact The Vernonia decision changed anti-drug policies at
many American high schools. While no organization tracks high school drug
testing, Aultman says, at least 350 schools have begun programs.

A handful of Oregon schools --including Vernonia, Paisley, Marshfield,
Butte Falls, Prospect, Willamina, Wahtonka and Madras -- already are
testing athletes.

At Madras High, eight students have tested positive in three years. Most
went into intervention programs and continued to participate in sports.

"The students joke about it a bit: They say it's whiz quiz time," said
Margaret Sturza, Madras athletic director, adding, "One thing some people
are concerned about are that some kids are doing things to mask the results."

The Internet is full of products to defeat drug testing. Alex Hiller, who
graduated this spring from Madras as student body president, said some
search for ways to beat the test.

"The drug testing is not in-depth enough to catch a lot of things," the
three-sport athlete said. "Kids know how to get around it."

Hiller said Madras' program would be more effective if the testing were
more elaborate and if more athletes were tested. After an initial test at
the start of the season, the school screens about 10 percent of the
athletes every two weeks.

Following protocol The OHSU program will follow protocol developed at the
Olympic Games. Urine samples will be tested for narcotics; cocaine;
methamphetamines; phencyclidine, or PCP; marijuana; anabolic steroids; and
alcohol. Alcohol testing also will be done with a breath analyzer. Student
athletes, who must accept the testing to be eligible for sports, will be
selected for testing by a random lottery.

Goldberg, who also is an Olympic-certified drug tester, developed an
award-winning program to educate high school athletes about the dangers of
anabolic steroids, illegal drugs used to build muscle mass. The Atlas
program, which visited 31 Portland area high schools, stresses good
nutrition and informed weight-lifting to build strength and size.

Goldberg began drafting the drug-testing program, called Saturn, after the
Supreme Court's Vernonia decision. "Schools were implementing drug testing
with no evidence that it worked," he said.

Preliminary results from a pilot study he ran this past year at three
Oregon high schools showed marijuana use dropped where drug testing
occurred. He said alcohol use also declined.

No Portland schools The Saturn program did not solicit Portland area
schools out of concern that students could transfer to skirt drug testing.
Goldberg selected schools based on demographics, matching testing sites
with control schools.

The schools in the program are Taft, Toledo, Newport, Waldport, Eddyville,
Philomath, Dallas, Silverton, McKenzie, Scio, Creswell, Astoria, Warrenton,
Sherman County, Oakridge, Monroe, Gervais and Mill City.

The federal grant will pay for the testing, which costs about $100 a
sample, and physicians will monitor the program.

"This will be the type of study that will establish a research base so we
can make intelligent decisions to benefit our kids," said Dave Novotney,
principal of Dallas High School.

But not everyone heralds drug testing as a positive force.

"We need to be concerned about a society that is more and more encroaching
on people's privacy," said Anthony Biglan, a senior scientist with the
Oregon Research Institute in Eugene. Biglan, a consultant for the White
House Office of National Drug Control Policy, is torn: He favors learning
more about drug testing but worries about civil rights.

"It may be that this does have a beneficial effect in preventing drug use,"
said Biglan, a past president of the American Civil Liberties Union of
Oregon. "But if we had random roadblocks to screen people for criminal
stuff, if we went into homes, we could find out what illegal activities
were going on, too. The question is, where do we draw the line?"

The ACLU stand The ACLU believes the line should exclude drug testing.
David Fidanque, the ACLU's executive director, contends the Oregon
Constitution affords greater protection for privacy rights than its federal
counterpart. He said his organization is looking for a case to challenge
student testing in state court.

"We believe suspicionless drug testing is a serious violation of the
privacy rights of students and families, and we intend to pursue that,"
Fidanque said. "The government always has good reasons for violating
constitutional rights. That doesn't make it OK."

Tom Christ, the Portland lawyer who represented James Acton in the Vernonia
case, believes the issue is unresolved despite the Supreme Court ruling.
State constitutions can offer more protection. And Christ said the U.S.
Supreme Court gives schoolchildren fewer rights than adults. It also uses a
balancing test in privacy cases, weighing societal benefits against
individual rights. Christ said the Oregon Supreme Court does not
distinguish between adults and children regarding basic rights and does not
use a balancing test.

Goldberg says the ACLU in the Vernonia case contended that drug testing had
never been proved effective.

"It would seem they would be very interested if this worked," he said. "If
it didn't, it would add more fuel to their argument. Can they handle the
truth or not? In science, we are just looking for the truth."