 N.J.
to test athletes for steroidsWednesday, December 21, 205 • By TERRENCE DOPP • The Express-Times TRENTON | Seeking to turn the tide on steroid use among high school students, acting Gov. Richard Codey issued a first-in-the-nation order Tuesday calling for random drug testing of championship athletes. The executive order follows the release Tuesday of a report authored by an 18-member task force created by Codey earlier this year to study ways to curb use of steroids, human growth hormones and other performance enhancing drugs by students. The order also calls for teaching children as early as fifth-grade about the dangers of steroids. "This is a growing public health threat, one we can't leave up to individual parents, coaches or schools to handle," Codey said. "This report puts us at the forefront in dealing with the problem of steroids. Today, we are putting this plan into action and becoming the first state in the nation to address this problem on a statewide level." According to data cited by Codey, 40 percent of 12th-grade students referred to steroids as "easy" or "fairly easy" to obtain. According to National Institute of Drug Abuse, 3.4 percent of high school seniors nationwide, 2.4 percent of 10th-graders and 1.9 percent of eighth-graders said they have tried steroids at least once. In response, Codey's order authorizes the Department of Education and the New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association to develop a policy aimed at randomly testing all championship competitors in high schools. Athletes who test positive would be barred from competing though their team could continue. The order would also instruct the Department of Health and Senior Services to randomly test dietary supplement products for sale in New Jersey to detect steroid contamination. School health classes and programs such as the Drug Abuse and Resistance Education initiative will be required to teach steroid prevention to students beginning in grade five, under Codey's edict. To complement the education, all schools will need to submit to the state a plan for decreasing use of performance enhancers. Task force members included former Education Commissioner William Librera and Sports Illustrated writer and New Jersey resident Peter King. Also serving on the panel was Lisa Brady, superintendent of South Hunterdon Regional High School. Brady was previously a principal of Hunterdon Central Regional High School and a member of that school's task force that recommended a random testing policy that made national headlines. "Random drug testing gives our kids a reason to say no," she said. Steroid use by young girls aiming to achieve a muscular look is also on the rise, Codey said. Task force members said ninth-grade girls represented the highest increase of steroid use by any age group. Terrence Dopp is Trenton correspondent for The Express-Times. He can be reached at 609-292-5154 or by e-mail at tdopp@sjnewsco.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. |