ATHLETES' DRUG USE RISING

From Staff and Wire Reports

Almost 60 percent of college athletes use nutritional supplements
that are unregulated and might contain banned substances such as
ephedrine, an NCAA survey found. The survey, released this week,
showed the use of amphetamines, anabolic steroids and ephedrine,
while still low, has increased slightly in the past four years. But
58.4 percent of the athletes surveyed said they had used a
nutritional supplement other than a multivitamin within the past year.

USC head trainer Rod Walters said he believes the 60 percent figure
is high but he is concerned about the use of ephedrine because it is
a heart stimulant. He said USC no longer purchases supplements for
the players.

"We educate the athletes that the NCAA does screen for certain
substances that may be found in (supplements)," said Walters, who is
in charge of drug testing at USC. "Even before this (report), our
athletes were coming forward and asking questions about things.
That's what we want them to do before they get involved in anything."

This was the first time the survey looked at the use of supplements
- -- the level of use trailed only alcohol and was more than double the
use of marijuana. Only 15 percent of those who took the supplements
acquired them from an athletic trainer, nutritionist or doctor, the
NCAA said.

Gary Green, chairman of the NCAA's drug testing and drug education
subcommittee, said most NCAA drug positives result from substances
found in nutritional supplements.

"You need to educate student-athletes about supplements from the time
you start recruiting them," he said. "We have had several freshmen
test positive in the early weeks of their first semester on campus
from the use of supplements."

The survey, conducted every four years since 1985, tabulated
responses from more than 21,000 athletes in all three NCAA divisions.
It was presented in June to the NCAA's Committee on Competitive
Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports and published on Monday in
the biweekly NCAA News.

Two weeks ago, Northwestern football player Rashidi Wheeler collapsed
during practice and died of bronchial asthma, but the university is
investigating reports that he and some teammates might have taken a
popular supplement called Ultimate Orange, which contains ephedrine.

"That (60 percent) seems high," said Danny Poole, Clemson's director
of sports medicine. "But the problem with some of these things is
that you can get them from GNC stores. You can try to educate people
and tell them not to get that, that the only supplements we want you
on are what we provide, which is approved by the NCAA. But anybody
can walk into a GNC store and buy whatever they want, just about."

The NCAA survey indicated 3.9 percent of the athletes admitted using
ephedrine, up from 3.5 percent in the last survey in 1997. The
biggest increase was in the use of ephedrine by women gymnasts, which
showed a rise from 1.1 percent to 8.3 percent.

"This is of special concern in a sport in which there is a desire for
thinness and a risk of pathologic weight-loss behavior," Green said.

On the other hand, ephedrine use among wrestlers dropped from 10.4
percent to 4.3 percent, perhaps because of weight certification
changes adopted after the deaths of three college wrestlers in 1997,
Green said. Almost 60 percent of those using supplements acquired
them from retail stores, according to the survey.

"In speaking with student-athletes, very often they are unaware
ephedrine is a banned substance and an element in these products,"
said Mary Wilfert, NCAA program coordinator for health and safety.

"They are not savvy enough, for the most part, to recognize that this
is a risk for them, because they can go into a retail store and
purchase them," she said.

Amphetamine use was reported by 3.3 percent, up from 3.1 percent in
1997. Just 1.4 percent reported using anabolic steroids, up from 1.1
percent in the last survey.

Among other findings in the survey, 79.5 had at least one alcoholic
beverage and 27.3 percent admitted using marijuana at least once
during the past year -- both figures below those for the general
student population as reported in an earlier study at Southern
Illinois University.

The NCAA survey also indicated drops in the use of chewing tobacco
from 22.5 percent to 17.4 percent and in psychedelic drugs from 5.6
percent to 4.5 percent, and a slight increase in cocaine from 1.5
percent to 1.7 percent.

Cigarette use was surveyed for the first time, with 22 percent saying
they had smoked within the past year and 11 percent saying they were
still smoking.

The NCAA said athletes in Division III continued to have the highest
rates for amphetamines, ephedrine, alcohol, marijuana, smokeless
tobacco, cigarettes and psychedelics, although the differences among
the divisions were less than in 1997.

Black athletes generally reported less use among all substance
categories than whites, the survey indicated.

Staff writers Nat Newell and Ken Tysiac contributed to this report