Steroid Series: Early Detection

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/otl/news/story?id=3951039

 By Shaun Assael
ESPN The Magazine

Not long ago, America's high schools were being hailed as the next frontier in the sports world's war on drugs. In his 2004 State of the Union address, former President George W. Bush put the issue on the political radar by exhorting Americans "to get tough and to get rid of steroids now" as part of his call for additional funding for testing for illegal drugs in the nation's schools. Parents became mobilized as tragic tales of steroid-related teen suicides drew headlines.

Four years after the first statewide program was begun in the United States, however, steroid testing has become a hard sell. Last month, Florida threw in the towel on its $100,000 program after finding just one positive case among 600 students.

Florida's move leaves Texas, Illinois and New Jersey as the only states with random steroid-testing programs. And they aren't uncovering much more use. New Jersey found one positive in 500 postseason tests last year.

Texas reported seven positives out of 19,000 tests done through the school year. The $3 million annual price tag on Texas's program led one Republican state senator to call the tests, which cost between $150 and $200 each, a "colossal waste of taxpayer money."

Supporters discount the low numbers of positive test results, arguing that the real value of random testing is deterrence. Kurt Gibson, assistant executive director of the Illinois High School Association, says that while his state is only midway through the first year of its $150,000 pilot, he will not be concerned if its numbers mirror Texas' and New Jersey's.

"We feel there's great grassroots support for this," he says. "We talked to our members before we began this, and they all said they wanted it."

New Jersey's testing czar echoes the sentiment.

"Our goal isn't to catch kids. It's to prevent them from using," says Bob Baly, assistant director of the state's Interscholastic Athletic Association. "When we go into a school, the word gets around that we're there. Parents like that."

The statistics show that not many kids are getting caught for steroids and that it may be wasting money. If steroid use is declining from the fear of the test then the test is being effective even though the numbers may not seem to be.

New Jersey will soon become the first state to test high school athletes for steroids

New Jersey will soon become the first state to test high school athletes for steroids. Former Governor Richard Codey signed an executive order last December requiring random tests of students who participate in championship tournaments. Any student athlete found to be using illegal performance enhancing drugs would be suspended from competition for one year.

Mr. BOB BAILEY (New Jersey Athletic Association): We reviewed it just like a physical. We're making sure students when they enter an athletic contest will be healthy and won't be injured. We know that steroids has a harmful effect on anybody that takes them. So, I think we're talking health and safety first.

SOLOMON: Predictably, the ACLU of New Jersey begs to differ. Deborah Jacobs, the chapter's director, says it's not for the state to decide what kind of medical tests children should take.

Ms. DEBORAH JACOBS (ACLU, New Jersey): Having the school make the decision to subject a child to a medical examination really undermines the authority of the parent and the family privacy in that kind of decision making. So, this is something where really the government's trying to take on a roll that doesn't belong to it. It belongs to parents and it's a private family issue.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse says steroid use among teenagers peaked in 2002 and is now in decline. One study found that 1.5 percent of high school seniors took steroids in 2005.

SOLOMON: The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association is expected to approve the testing plan on June 7th. The program would test 500 of the 10,000 students who participate in championship tournaments, beginning with the 2006-07 school year, which means the first drug test will probably be given before the tournaments in late fall.

Source: All Things Considered (NPR), MAY 29, 2006

Texas, Illinois and New Jersey are the only states with random steroid-testing programs

Steroid Testing in High School

According to the Monitoring the Future Survey by The University of Michigan, in 2006, 2.7% of high school seniors reported they had tried steroids at least once in their lifetime.  The majority of those who fall victim to teenage steroid abuse are male athletes seeking to better their performance in sports, be more competitive in the pursuit of athletic scholarships, or to gain recognition outside of the arena. 

 Females as well as males have shockingly admitted trying steroids as early as age 11, and are said to most commonly do so for aesthetic purposes.  The charted and graphical illustrations below demonstrate some of the trends seen over the past several years.

	8th-Graders					10th-Graders				12th-Graders
	2003		2004	2005	2006	2003	2004	2005	2006	2003	2004	2005	2006
Steroid Use
Lifetime Past year Past month		2.5 1.4 0.7	1.9 1.1 0.5	1.7 1.1 0.5	1.6 0.9 0.5	3.0 1.7 0.8	2.4 1.5 0.8	2.0 1.3 0.6	1.8 1.2 0.6	3.5 2.1 1.3	3.4 2.5 1.6	2.6 1.5 0.9	2.7 1.8 1.1

Potential Risks

Although some of the side effects are minor and temporary, adolescent use can increase both severity and permanence.  All too often teens simply ignore these signals.

Anabolic Steroids can stunt the vertical growth of adolescent users. 

Epiphyseal plates located on each end of the long bones remain open permitting growth to take place.

 At the time of maturity these plates fuse, thus definitively ending the vertical growth process.  Too much additional testosterone in an adolescent user’s body can cause hormones to send false maturity messages resulting in the premature fusion of growth plates and reduction in overall height. 

Teens most likely will not have the resources to obtain the proper paraphernalia for sterilely injecting steroids.  Poor injecting techniques can lead to bacterial infections under the skin such as abscesses, cellulitis, gangrene, and excessive the formation of scar tissue.  The hazardous practice of sharing needles can present a risk of transmitting AIDS, HIV and Hepatitis B or C.



Abuse is different from addiction, and will always precede it in drug use.  This earlier incidence is why abuse is the more easily treatable and curable of the two.  Drug abuse begins when one has made the decision to use repeatedly, and if used too often drugs create associated physiological cravings within the body. 

Steriods also have an effect on the brain and can be very harmful to teens.

What is government doing?

The federal government, various associations and committees have implemented specific measures in the prevention of adolescent steroid abuse.  The “Monitoring the Future Study” chart above depicts substantial decrease in the lifetime usage of 12th graders since 2003.  The Anabolic Steroid Prevention for Teen Athletes (ATLAS) is a program that provides male, high school athlete steroid users with peer counseling, factual information and healthy alternatives.  ATLAS received the ‘Model Program Award’ from the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention in 2000, and the ‘Exemplary Award from Safe and Drug Free Schools’ in 2001.  Surveys have reported a positive impact by ATLAS in the areas of drunk driving, illicit drug use.  Students who participate in the ATLAS program report higher self-esteem, better self-confidence, and greater awareness after completing the program.  In 1999 ‘Athletes Targeting Healthy Exercise and Nutrition Alternatives’ (ATHENA) was designed to reduce both the use of drugs and eating disorders in teenage girls.

http://www.steroidabuse.com/steroid-use-in-high-schools.html

Should High School's test for Steroids

Should High School Test for Steroids?

 It happens in High schools all across the world. High School athletics are injecting themselves with anabolic steroids for their specific sports for the purpose of being the best or getting recognized to play college sports.

Pros- Prevent death, decline in future steroid activity, scares athletes away from steroids, equal in sports.

Cons- invasion of privacy, expensive (190$ per test), steroid use is low in high school