Researchers at Oregon Health & Sciences University compared drug use among student athletes at two high schools in Oregon. At Wahtonka High School, all student athletes are subject to random drug testing, while at Warrenton High School, drug testing is not conducted.

The study found that of the 135 athletes subject to the random testing at Wahtonka, 5.3 percent said they were using illegal drugs by the end of the school year. At Warrenton 19.4 percent of the 141 athletes said they use illegal drugs.

In addition, student-athletes at Wahtonka were three times less likely than their peers at Warrenton to say they used performance-enhancing substances.

"The differences between the schools were dramatic," said Dr. Linn Goldberg, a lead researcher in the study.

The study's findings are published in the January 2003 issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Goldberg, L., Elliot, D., MacKinnon, D., Moe, E., Kuehl, K., Nohre, L., & Lockwood, C. (2003). Drug testing athletes to prevent substance abuse: background and pilot study results of the SATURN (student athlete testing using random notification) study. Journal of Adolescent Health, 32(1): 16-25.

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