A national expert is calling New Jersey's new steroids-testing program a waste of money because it only tests athletes after postseason tournaments, the Oregon Statesman-Journal reported Nov. 20.

New Jersey's statewide steroids-testing program, which went into effect this fall, is being touted as a model by some and as a monument to waste by others. The state high-school association's policy calls for random testing of athletes who qualify for individual or team postseason competition; positive tests will result in athletes losing their eligibility to play for one year.

"A number of states have told us that they're just waiting to see what happens in New Jersey, so it wouldn't surprise me if in 2007 or 2008 we saw more testing conducted by state high-school associations," said Frank Uryasz, president of the National Center for Drug Free Sport. Florida, Illinois, New York, and Texas are among the states reportedly considering similar programs.

But Linn Goldberg, a steroids expert and professor of medicine at Oregon Health & Science University, called the New Jersey steroid testing "the most ridiculous program on the planet" because, he said, student athletes can easily avoid testing positive by ending their steroid use before the postseason begins.

"How is that a deterrent?" he asked. "It isn't, not by any stretch of the imagination. If drug testing is going to work, it's got to be random, it's got to be unannounced, and it's got to be at any time."

Others questioned the wisdom of random drug testing for high-school athletes. "Not that random drug testing is necessarily bad, but it's terribly, terribly expensive, and I question its long-term positive effects," said Tom Welter, the executive director of the Oregon School Activities Association. "What's being accomplished if an athlete stays off chemical use during the football season, then turns right around and goes on a binge during the winter and spring because he's not playing anything? Have we really taught that athlete anything?"

At the college level, the NCAA is now conducting year-round random drug testing of student athletes.

About 500 New Jersey high-school athletes are expected to be randomly tested for drugs each year, state officials said. Testing will be focused on those participating in football, track and field, wrestling, baseball, lacrosse and swimming.