Newsgroups: alt.drugs,alt.psychoactives
From: [ez 026264] at [mr-ranger.ucdavis.edu] (Speed Raver)
Subject: Court rules against athletic drug tests!
Date: Mon, 9 May 1994 18:00:35 GMT


By Jim Doyle -  San Francisco Chronicle

SAN FRANCISCO - The U.S. Court of Appeals struck down as unconstitutional
a mandatory drug-screening program in rural Oregon for elementary and`high
school athletes. 

It is the latest court ruling on the legality of requiring student athletes
to submit to "random" drug tests, which are conducted without suspicion
that those tested use drugs.

A three-judge panel held unanimously on Thursday that the Veronica School
District's testing program violated students' rights to be free from
"unreasonable searches" under both the state and federal constitutions.

Federal and state courts have issued conflicting rulings on drug tests for
student athletes.

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court decided - without explanation - not to 
review a Colorado Supreme Court ruling that the University of Colorado's
drug testing program is unconstitutional.

But in November, the Califorrnia Supreme Court upheld the National
Collegiate Athletic Association's mandatory drug testing of athletes who
play in post-season championship games. The NCAA's interest in drug-free
competition outweighs students' privacy rights,  the court held.

In 1988, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago upheld the mandatory drug
testing of high school athletes in Tippecanoe County, Indiana.

Because of the spotty rulings, legal scholars expect the U.S. Supreme
Court  to take up  the issue of student drug testing.

The Oregon case arose in 1989 when the Veronica School District instituted
a policy that all boys and girls who take part  in interscholastic athletics
must submit urine samples for drug testing. Veronica is a small logging
town about one hour from Portland.

School officials said they began the program to combat an increase in
student drug use, a decline of student discipline and evidence that a
student suffered a sports injury because of his use of marijuana.

-end of article-


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