CONGRESSMEN CALL FOR DRUG-FREE NBA

Several congressmen including Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.)
plan to send a letter today to NBA Commissioner David Stern and NBA Players
Association Executive Director Billy Hunter calling on them to adopt a
``zero-tolerance'' drug policy.

The letter, tied to the Speaker's Task Force for a Drug-Free America, will
call for random testing for all illegal drugs and harsh penalties for
violators. However, no new laws will be proposed.

This effort is timed to the ongoing negotiations between the players union
and the league over the drug policy and the collective bargaining
agreement. The current drug policy, which expires June 30 unless the two
sides approve a new agreement, has been criticized for being lenient on
drug use, especially marijuana.

The NBA is the only major sport that doesn't prohibit the use of marijuana,
an illegal drug in all 50 states. The league, which weathered serious
cocaine problems in the late '70s, has seen several of its prominent young
stars ensnared in marijuana-related charges in recent months, including
Chris Webber, Allen Iverson and Isaiah Rider. In addition, a New York Times
survey last fall said 70 percent of NBA players abuse marijuana and
alcohol.

Hunter has disputed those findings saying, ``If there is a marijuana
problem, it's one reflective of society.''

Indeed, the latest survey by the Partnership for a Drug Free America,
showed 48 percent of high school juniors and seniors smoked pot last year,
up from 29 percent in 1993.

The NBA's 14-year-old drug policy does not include drug testing, with the
exception of a rookie clause under which first-year players are tested for
cocaine and heroin, but not marijuana. Players can be disciplined by the
league for using marijuana only if they are criminally convicted of an
offense.

The league has proposed that first-time offenders of the marijuana policy
would receive a five-game suspension. A second-time offender would be
suspended for six months and a third infraction would result in a lifetime
ban. Any player caught distributing the drug would be expelled from the
league.

Hunter has not been thrilled by this proposal, either.

``Our concern is that the league doesn't use marijuana as just another
vehicle to constrain and control our players,'' he said.


Checked-by: (Joel W. Johnson)