NCJ Number
116325
Journal
Dickinson Law Review Volume: 92 Issue: 3 Dated: (Spring 1988) Pages: 571-607
Date Published
1988
Length
37 pages
Annotation
The popularity of recreational drug use by athletes has resulted in serious action by sports and governmental authorities to end abuse and punish or rehabilitate drug users.
Abstract
The most common method used for identifying drug users has been drug testing such as in those programs implemented by the National Basketball Association, the National Football League, the Baltimore Orioles, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Such programs raise serious legal issues, including conflict with constitutional rights such as due process, equal protection, privacy, and non-self incrimination. Many of the programs emphasize education and rehabilitation and conduct testing as part of a routine medical examination or for reasonable suspicion. Unbridled drug testing is fraught with dangers, including violation of important rights and the possibility of false accusations based on erroneous test results. Further, drug testing procedures are not effective weapons in the war against drug abuse. Drug testing will produce positive results only so long as the health and well-being of the athlete or other test subject is the primary concern. Invariably testing will be most effective if it is part of a voluntary program designed to help those who recognize they have a problem and genuinely desire help. 216 footnotes.