3,000 LOCAL ATHLETES, CHEERLEADERS FACE DRUG TESTS

Approximately 3,000 student athletes and cheerleaders in Collier
County will be randomly tested for recreational drug use. During a
presentation at Barron Collier High School in Naples November 28,
U.S. drug czar John Walters and Deputy Secretary of Education,
Raymond Simon, announced that $209,662 in Federal grant money has
been awarded to the School District for this purpose.

Walters and Simon also announced $8.6 million for schools nationwide.
According to Walters, however, Florida is the only state that will
receive more than one grant award (three in total) and Collier
County's is the second-largest grant in the nation.

Naples, Palmetto, Lely, Gulf Coast, Golden Gate, Immokalee and Barron
Collier High Schools will start the drug testing next year. "This is
not necessarily related to higher risk or drug abuse," said Walters.
"The grants are assigned based on the plan the schools presented to
implement the program."

Nearly 400 public schools around the country have implemented random
student drug testing with Federal grant money.

Florida's Polk County School System, for example, has tested student
athletes since 1997, and saw marijuana use drop by 30 percent,
according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

"We want to make sure you have every opportunity to be the best you
can be," explained Simon, to about 700 Barron Collier High School
students. "We have to pay attention to anything that stands in the
way of accomplishing this." "Drug use is not about moral failing;
it's a disease," explained Walters. "Random testing serves three
purposes: it keeps you safe from drugs; if you just started using
them, it helps us intervene early; and if you've been using them for
a while, we can identify the problem and refer you for treatment."
Many schools require testing for tuberculosis and other communicable
diseases as a condition of enrollment; according to the Office of
National Drug Control Policy, testing for drug use covers the same
protective factors. "Drug use is not about freedom of decision; it's
a disease that takes away your freedom; it's a killer and a thief of
futures," said Walters to the young crowd.

Students had the opportunity to ask questions after Simon and
Walter's presentation. Some of the concerns rested on the
consequences of a positive result for the drug test. "By law, random
testing in public schools must be strictly confidential," Walters
answered. "The school will inform only the parents, and an interview
will be conducted with the student.

The student will be referred for treatment.

We want to keep the child in school while they are recovering from
their drug dependency. We're not going to lose anybody to this."

"I think it will help kids quit drugs because they don't know when
they will be tested," said 17-year-old Issy Taylor. "But I don't know
if the punishment is harsh enough for them to care getting caught.

And they should test everyone else, because I think athletes are the
ones that don't do drugs."

There were also questions about the testing methods. "We've
contracted a lab to perform the testing," explained Joseph Kemper,
Barron Collier High School's Athletic Director. "It is a urine test
and it will detect several drugs, like marijuana, cocaine,
amphetamines, opiates and PCP." The athletic directors will oversee
the testing, which will be performed every month. Craig Zyburo, a
Barron Collier senior, asked Walters why random testing targets these
drugs only, while alcohol has been reported to be the most popular
drug among high school students and there are more tobacco-related deaths.

"Unfortunately, alcohol does not stay in the blood long enough for
the test to detect it," explained Walters. He clarified, however,
that the testing will detect some prescription drugs. "Athletes
should be tested for steroids only because that's the only drug they
use," said Zyburo after the presentation. However, as Walters
explained during a press conference held after the student assembly,
the tests required to detect steroids and other performance-enhancing
drugs, are much more expensive. While a regular drug test costs
between $10 and $40 each, steroid testing can cost up to $100 each.

Other students questioned why only athletes and cheerleaders will be
tested. According to the Supreme Court, athletes and cheerleaders, as
well as other students participating in extracurricular activities,
have chosen to be part of such groups and therefore the group can
request the drug testing. Some people believe random testing may be a
violation of civil rights. To counter this, Walters said the drug
testing programs are about saving people's lives. "It's about
protecting people, referring students who use drugs to someone who
can help, using the knowledge we have," he said. "We are not going to
look the other way."

Collier County School Board agreed to send the petition for grant
money back in March this year, after a Florida Youth Substance Abuse
survey showed that more than 60 percent of Collier County students,
grades six through 12, have used illegal substances in their lives.