War On Drugs Thru Drug Testing of College Athletes

In attacking the medicate epidemic, the administration has to determine in which areas the reform would have the sterling(prenominal) overall effect. Further statistics from the Department of Health & Human run indicate that the "plateau" maturate for drug utilise is 22, an age when many are in college. In addition, surveys show that the renewal champion makes from high school to college is accompanied by an amplify in drug exercising (Bachman and O'Malley 15). As a result, use of drugs in collegiate years is rising. More specifically, one can non jockstrap but nonice the extent that the drug epidemic has infiltrated college athletics. For example, Len Bias, the great basketball player ever to play in the highly t stunneded Atlantic Coast Conference and former number one draft choice of the Boston Celtics, died of a cocaine drug in 1986 (Adier and Cohen 16). Also, self-destruction due to cocaine use fatherd the subvert of a promising career for Danny McLain, former point precaution of the National Champion Villanova basketball team. Further, 21 percent of college football game players, including All-American Brian Bosworth, the most visible player of the 1986 season, were banned from bowl games for their use of steroids (Neff 22). These highly publicized incidents have led to the discovery of extensive drug use among college athletes. As a result, drug scrutiny of college athletes is an appropriate approach to halting the proliferation of collegiate drug use.

The NCAA's desire to impose mandatory drug interrogation on college athletes has met violent opposition from campuses nationwide. The students' first melody is that the existing methods of testing are not reliable. Roger P. Maickel, Professor of materia medica and Toxicology at Purdue University, testified that urinary drug testing can go away false results 15 to 20 percent of the time. He states that "a conflicting set of variables precludes urinary drug tests from creation check of illegal drug use, but rather can unaccompanied serve as a caution sign." In addition, Maickel points out that legitimate drugs and more or less natural food components can case positive test results.

For example, Contac, Sudafed, certain diet pills, decongestants, and heart and asthma attack medications can register as amphetamines. Likewise, poppy seeds, which contain traces of morphine, and some herb tea teas containing traces of cocaine can be mistaken for illegal drugs (Groves 155). The surmisal of inaccurate test results put athletes in danger of being wrongly disqualified from competition. In addition, these test results, targets for media attention, can cause inaccurate and unfair stigmas if they are false. Consequently, athletes are against testing as long as the NCAA fails to insure accurate results.

However, those opposed to testing argue that the main idea behind the program is not the health of the athletes but rather the protection of the integrity of the competition. In response to this goal, many athletes and baby buggyes feel that testing in some sports is unnecessary for no drug can be classify as "performance-enhancing."

For instance, in an article printed in the Stanford Daily, Stanford basketball coach Mike capital of Alabama said that "drugs can't help basketball players." Montgomery believes that the use of drugs cannot affect the performance of his team and therefore could not result in damaging the integrity of the competition. Consequently, drug vitiate of basketball players should not b
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