STUDENT DRUG-TEST STUDY WILL PROVIDE INVALUABLE DATA

Drug Testing Happens.

In a nutshell, that is the status quo, despite the wishes of The Oregonian
("Stop drug research on Oregon kids," July 8).

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the legality of drug testing of high school
athletes in an Oregon case in 1995 and in June expanded that ruling to
include high school students participating in any extracurricular
(voluntary) activities.

Although legal, no one knows whether drug testing reduces drug use. Does
testing help students resist drugs or is it a big waste of money? That is
the basis of the Saturn study led by myself and colleagues from Oregon
Health & Science University.

Many schools drug-test athletes without questioning effectiveness. So, why
should we or anyone else care, since it is now a legal option? Currently,
substance abuse causes more deaths, illnesses and disabilities than any
other preventable health condition, costing over $160 billion a year in the
United States.

Teen-agers are most vulnerable, and high schools haven't had effective
programs to deter drug use. The 2001 Oregon Healthy Teens Survey showed
widespread drug and alcohol use among high school students. Substance abuse
among young athletes is similar, with even greater use of steroids and other
performance-enhancing drugs. Sadly, almost 14 percent of Oregon teen-agers
said they had been drunk at school within the past three months.

Although some negative public sentiment has been directed toward the Saturn
study, that opinion might be best used to change public school policy or to
assist in more compelling legal challenges.

To clarify the Saturn project: We are studying seven schools that have
developed a legal policy of drug testing and comparing them to six schools
that have deferred drug testing for three years.

Our study is a voluntary survey of those students: Students are asked to
complete a questionnaire to determine whether the fact that their school has
(or does not have) random drug testing for athletes has any effect on their
use of drugs or alcohol, as well as what they think about drug testing.

Student-athletes and their parents are given a consent form before they
complete the questionnaire and informed the survey is completely voluntary.
Most complete the survey; some don't. We confidentially report the results.
No student is identified from the survey. This is their opportunity to voice
their opinion.

If substance use is revealed, it is considered a medical problem, evaluated
and treated. Results are handled like an abnormality revealed during the
mandatory physical examination. Findings are not part of a student's record,
and there are no school suspensions based on positive drug tests.

After the recent Supreme Court ruling, we can be sure that drug testing will
pop up in more schools. In fact, the only way drug testing might fall from
favor is if it is proven to be ineffective, and so far ours is the only
study asking that question.

There is a substance abuse problem in our schools. Drug testing may or may
not be an answer. But unless we ask the question we will never know.