Pubdate: Wed, 05 Dec 2007 Source: Tampa Tribune (FL) Copyright: 2007 The Tribune Co. Contact: http://www.tbo.com/news/opinion/submissionform.htm Website: http://www.tampatrib.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/446 Author: Marilyn Brown The Tampa Tribune Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) STUDENTS TO DRUG CZAR: TESTS NOT THAT BAD TAMPA - When Tampa Catholic High School announced it was starting random drug testing of students this school year, there were a lot of questions. Tuesday, students told U.S. drug czar John P. Walters the new policy is not as bad as they thought it might be, but noted any student called to the office for any reason creates a buzz. Some students said their privacy is being invaded. "It's kind of there in the background," said senior Matt Dugger, "It's always there." A new state law adds to the pool of tested high school students, requiring some high school athletes to be randomly tested. At Tampa Catholic, 25 percent of its 800 students are expected to be tested during the school year. Any student who tests positive will be referred to substance abuse counseling, Principal Pat Landry said. So far, there have been no positives, Landry said. She hopes it is a sign that the test provides students an additional reason to say no to drugs. Despite concerns from parents about privacy, every family returned this year even though they must give permission for the drug test. Schools across the country that require random drug testing gain parent support, said Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. He added, "Parents feel their concern about drugs is now the accepted concern of the community." True, said Ron Barcena, who supports the testing and has a 16-year-old son who attends Tampa Catholic. "One of the hardest things is learning to say 'no' without alienating themselves." Some students will get caught, students predicted, before they realize the test is for real. "A certain percent of people honestly don't care," senior Marco Mendoza told Walters. "It takes getting caught before they stop." So far this year for Florida athletes, Florida High School Athletic Association Commissioner John Stewart said last week, "All things considered, we felt it went pretty well." The tests started in October with 411 football players tested at 30 schools, he said. Not all results are in, but just one player tested positive. Here is how Stewart describes the process: A sample is divided into two separate samples in case a second test is needed for verification. Testing is done by the Center for Drug Free Sport and sent to labs at the University of California at Los Angeles at a cost of $175 per panel of tests. Schools and students are chosen at random by the testing company. When a school is chosen, 15 percent of athletes on its roster for the particular sport are tested. School officials and parents have requested the second sample be tested, he said. The next sports to be tested for boys and girls are weightlifting, baseball and softball. Stewart said he expects all $100,000 the state allocated for testing to be used this year. He said a confirmed positive test suspends the student from the athletic team for 90 days, during which he or she must attend a drug education program. In Hillsborough, four high schools were selected for football testing, said Lanness Robinson, the district's director of middle and high school athletics. They were Robinson, Newsome, Wharton and Brandon. No positives were found, Robinson said. - --- MAP posted-by: Steve Heath