As steroid abuse among athletes spreads to high schools, school districts are confronted with the financially prohibitive problem of testing athletes for drugs--which can cost over $100 per athlete per test. Florida's Polk County School District, where about 6% of student athletes admit to using performance-enhancing drugs, is instituting a serious testing and rehabilitation program, and has won a federal grant to cover the cost of the testing.

A blurb in _The Week_ indicated that steriod use is on the rise for student athletes of both genders. I wonder whether both male and female athletes will be subject to testing under this district's screening program, and whether the survey mentioned sampled all student althetes.

A few years ago a high school athlete here died of a heart attack. It turned out that his football coach had been giving him and the other players steroids. Possibly the kids didn't even know what they were taking.

And from which budget will they take the funds for these tests? from physics? from geography?

It just goes to show that competitive sports in schools are utter nonsense.

Steroids use at the high school level only really benefit football or lacrosse athletes. In other sports, the bulk and muscle that result from steroids can be counter-productive. Efforts to blunt drug use in other sports are probably misguided and not efficient.