PREP ATHLETE USE OF DRUGS DECLINES

A program designed to reduce steroid, alcohol and drug use among male
athletes in Salt Lake City schools appears to be working.

Preliminary results from the ATLAS program, or Athletes Training and
Learning to Avoid Steroids, released Wednesday show students are less
likely to use marijuana and alcohol or want to try anabolic steroids. A
similar program for female athletes is expected to be implemented this spring.

The results "are pretty exciting. You don't usually see the drug prevention
work that fast," said Linn Goldberg, of Oregon Health Sciences University,
who helped develop ATLAS. "It was across the board."

The Salt Lake City School District implemented the program in all three
high schools in the fall.

About 500 athletes have taken the classes. Researchers only wanted to use
survey results from students who were present during at least five of the
10 sessions. Just 80 surveys were involved in the preliminary results.

Specifically, the surveys found fewer athletes drank alcohol in the past
month after the classes (12 percent to 7 percent); used marijuana in the
past month (about 9 percent to 6 percent); used creatine (7 percent to 2
percent); and had a desire to use steroids (about 60 percent to 35 percent).

The surveys also show more students have learned alcohol and marijuana
weaken their muscles, worsen their athletic abilities and lower their
testosterone levels. However, more than half of the students reported
knowing that before participating in ATLAS.

Mayor Rocky Anderson urged the city school board to adopt the program,
which qualified for a $150,000 federal grant, after he pulled city funding
for the DARE anti-drug program used in elementary and middle schools. That
program was replaced by a state curriculum called Prevention Dimensions.

ATLAS expands on lessons taught in high school health and weight training
courses. Athletes learn how to improve their strength and performance
through proper nutrition and weight training.

The information is presented during practice by coaches and other athletes
- -- which Goldberg says is one of the program's strengths.

Rod Miner, West High School's athletic director, said the material has been
useful. But he suspects the program isn't what is making students avoid drugs.

"They've decided to do it or decided not to do it before high school," he said.

He also takes issue with a program that only targets athletes.

"You mean the rest of [the students] are lily clean? There's just as much a
problem outside the athletes," he said.