Drug Testing of UIL Athletes

[tors2002]

What do ya'll think about drug testing students who participate in UIL Activites. I agree with 100%. If they pursue a career in sports then they will be tested in College and Pro. Why not try to detour the use before it gets out of hand. :rolleyes: eek! :D :cool:

[exbccards76'smom]

I agree with you 100%. But it was still hard when my son went off to play college football. You cannot take any over the counter cold medications or anything like that. Plain advil and Tylenol were ok, but don't get sick. And if they are far off from home and their regular doc, it is kinda rough. But they can make it thru it ok.

[AggieJohn]

i'm in favor of it.....it purifies the sport...just they need to make sure they keep a broad scope of drugs they look for as many teens are finding newer drugs to help enhance their performance on friday nights

[tors2002]

I do think that not taking cold medicine is being kinda drastic. They could run a screen test on those types of drugs. They are also usually out of your system after 48 hours so a coach could log it in for a sick player.

[chris02]

i think that uil should do drug testing b/c i know too many athletes who were horribly into drugs and being someone who is supposed to represent their school in a positive way this doesn't need to be occurring. athletes who use drugs and those who also drink excessively are simply giving their entire school a bad rep. whether they want to be looked at as a judgement of their school or not being in that position they are.

[big daddy russ]

you know, the school district down here in aransas pass tests their athletes and anyone who competes in any uil competition and i think it's a very good thing, but the district has run into a lot of problems along the way. the main one was how to punish the kids. sure, you can take away their priveleges to compete, but after they become a repeat offender what do you do? if theyve been popped four or five times, their playing days have probably long since ended but you cant do much else. cant kick them out of school... its against the law for them not to attend school... and cant discpiline them yourself. about the only thing they can do is suspend them from athletics, tell their parents and make them go to counseling. that isnt a big deal to some of these kids, and some of those parents dont care enough to give a damn. good idea, but too many hoops to jump through.

[russ31]

It's a great idea, but extremely tricky to implement effectively. Example: Many common prescription medications that are given to children are amphetamines, just like meth or speed. Many of the most common are class 2 narcotics. Cocaine is included in that group. Kind of scary, huh?

[sinton66]

There is another consideration also. The cost for testing for steroids is not very high, but extended drug screens can run into hundreds of dollars for each person tested. I can almost guarantee you that the UIL/state government will not bear any of the costs. It will be left up to the school district to absorb. Our schools are already strapped to make ends meet, and a lot of them would have a hard time paying for implementation of a regulation like this.
Now, that said, I am totally against illicit drug usage. However, if this comes to pass, the UIL will be opening a big can of worms fraught with lawsuits and counter-suits over mistakes, civil liberty issues, right to privacy issues, entrapment issues, child protection statute issues, and legal due process issues. The list could go on and on.
Bottom line, this is too BIG an issue with too many pitfalls to be decided by the UIL alone. This must be duly considered by the state government, and proper safeguards and funding built into legislation.
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<small>[ October 10, 2002, 12:45 PM: Message edited by: sinton66 ]</small>

[Compudyne]

I don't think drug testing is a good idea unless you test everyone in everything. Football, Basketball, Debate, Band, One Act Play. And the only reason I would ever thiink it was good is if every school was made to do it. And I just don't think that will ever happen. Too much $$$$$$$$$

[Owen B]

"There ought to be a law..." is not the appropriate response to every problem.

I am highly in favor of discouraging drug use but I oppose every drug testing policy I have seen proposed, on both legal and practical grounds.

[exbccards76'smom]

tors2002:
I do think that not taking cold medicine is being kinda drastic. They could run a screen test on those types of drugs. They are also usually out of your system after 48 hours so a coach could log it in for a sick player.I agree, but all over the counter medicines are on the NCAA no-no list. Even Benadryll. Coaches told my boy, if it's not prescription, don't take it :p

[Animal02]

Drug testing is a good idea. But when it comes to steroid testing, what about all those legal supplements such as andro and animal stack that may produce positive results? Those are totally legal to sell, so would an athlete get in trouble for taking them? It would be hard though to tell if it was illegal steriods or just supplements from a nutrition store that person took to get bigger and stronger.

[sinton66]

Steroids are also used in cases of "water on the knee". They remove the fluid and inject a steroid in. This is a legitimate medical practice, but if the tester or the testee doesn't know about it, just think what could happen. In this case, if it was in an office visit, there would be no prescription. If a law was passed, proper safeguards would require the doctor to provide a written statement of treatment. And, there are hundreds of similar problems.