Lacrosse program institutes drug testing

Prior to the start of the season this winter, coaches of the lacrosse team required drug testing of all players. Lacrosse is a club, or pay-to-play, sport run through the Sisters Park & Recreation District, so there was no requirement for a school board decision to institute the program.

Coaches Bill Rexford and Andrew Gorayeb sent a letter to parents of the athletes informing them of that fact:

After much research and reflection, we have decided that in order for us to meet some of our program goals, it is necessary for us to institute a drug screening policy for all of our high school players. Marijuana has always been in high schools and it probably always will be, but it seems that has become more prevalent during the last two or three years. Drugs and alcohol are the number 1 reason teenagers lie to adults. Playing on a team and working towards a common goal is hard enough, but to have to navigate the deceit that accompanies drugs makes any meaningful work impossible to achieve. We are removing this from the equation so we can do the good work that needs to be done.

Registration for participation in the program included consent for the testing. The letter continued...

If a player is caught using marijuana or any other illegal drug, they will no longer be a part of the program and player dues will not be refunded. The player will be referred to the appropriate counseling body (Principal Maccauley, Officer Pray, TAPS) at Sisters School District and a plan to address this problem will be drawn up and implemented.

Response from the community has been supportive.

One parent of a lacrosse player who was tested said he was grateful to actually know either way, if his son was using drugs. As a tool to help coaches and parents, it brings up the subject and it might be the deciding factor in an athlete not trying drugs.

A student athlete who chose to remain anonymous and supports drug testing said, "You can't play to your full potential if you're drinking or on drugs. You let your teammates down. I know some kids who don't like the idea of being tested and, rather than be tested, wouldn't play a sport."

A coach from the high school said he thought all students should be tested. He said that there is a drug problem at the high school. It's not out of control, but it's an issue. According to this coach, drug testing would be another tool in helping to keep students from using drugs.

The issue has not come before the school board.

"We haven't addressed it one way or another," said board chair Christine Jones.

Historically, those opposed to drug testing site the possibility of a false positive resulting in lots of bad consequences for the innocent student. They also claim that it's an invasion of privacy, and that it's too expensive. While a drug test at a doctor's office can cost close to $50, the kit used to test the lacrosse players was a bulk kit and tested for marijuana only. The cost worked out to under a dollar per player.

Another possible consequence of drug testing is that some students are discouraged from participating in extracurricular activities. Some say that drug testing student athletes targets students least likely to be involved with drugs and may scare some students away from playing a sport which may have been their motivation to stop using drugs.

Drug testing for students has been found to be legal. In 1995, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on a case involving a school district in Oregon, that random drug testing of high school students who were participating in athletic programs was not a violation of their Fourth Amendment rights of privacy and the presumption of innocence. In 2002 the court ruled that the drug testing of all students who are involved in extracurricular activities is constitutional.

A study published in the "Journal of Drug Education" (Baywood Publishing, 2005) indicated that student athletes were more likely to support drug testing than students who didn't participate in sports. The results also indicated that the majority of those who were against drug testing were so because of the belief that it violates their constitutional right of privacy and presumption of innocence rather than the fear of being caught using drugs.

The results of the lacrosse team's drug test: One student tested positive for marijuana.

"It was best-case scenario" said Coach Gorayeb. "The student talked to us, expressed the desire to play and to stop using pot. After retesting clean, the student is now a contributing member of the team. It was exactly what we hoped for."

"We take our standards seriously," said Coach Rexford. "We did the testing because we really care about these kids."