TRENTON -- Having just cleared the state Senate on Monday, Gov. Chris Christie will now consider whether to sign into law a bill that would expand testing for steroid use among high school athletes in New Jersey.
The bill (S-367), sponsored by state Sen. Dick Codey (D-Essex), passed unanimously (37-0) following the recommendations of the governor's task force on steroid prevention.
In partnership with the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, which oversees secondary school sports, the state already does random testing of high school athletes during championships, but doesn't have funding to check for steroid use during the rest of their seasons.
Last year, after testing nearly 500 samples collected from students during the 2015-16 school year in sports like football, wrestling, basketball and soccer players, none tested positive.
However, a 2015 study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System found that 4 percent of male U.S. high school students and 2.7 percent of females have used anabolic steroids at least once in their lives. While the number of boys using steroids has held steady since 2013, the CDC found the number of girls using steroids increased by half a percent from 2013 to 2015.
Regardless of gender, the FDA has found juvenile steroid to cause potentially irreversible damage to developing organs, resulting in fertility problems, impotence, high blood pressure and cholesterol, and heart and liver abnormalities. Boys may experience testicular shrinkage or develop breasts; girls may experience menstrual irregularities and grow facial and body hair.
The current championship-only steroid testing program costs $100,000 annually, with half coming from the athletics and the rest from federal grants.
Drug test every high schooler annually, lawmaker says
The state Senate is seeking an additional $45,000 in appropriations that would allow for testing beyond playoff competitions.
There would also be additional drug education offered to the teams.
Earlier this month, based on the New Jersey governor's task force on steroids report, New York's state assembly introduced a bill seeking to ban the sale to minors of the over-the-counter dietary supplement creatine, often taken in place of steroids.
Manufacturers note that creatine, an amino acid that occurs naturally in meat and fish, can help build muscle mass and improve strength without the side effects of steroids.
However the supplement also causes dehydration by drawing water out of the bloodstream and into the muscles to improve their function. Long term use can cause liver and kidney damage, particularly in young people, and so both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Sports Medicine advise against use of creatine in kids under 18.
Claude Brodesser-Akner may be reached at cbrodesser@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ClaudeBrodesser. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
