NCJ Number
120736
Journal
New England Law Review Volume: 23 Issue: 3 Dated: (Winter-Spring 1988-89) Pages: 651-666
Date Published
1989
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This article elaborates on the physiological basis urine for drug testing, the accuracy of procedures, and the interpretation of results.
Abstract
Various athletic regulatory authorities have incorrectly balanced the benefits and hazards of urine testing programs. The beneficial effects of steroids are more imagined than real, and most of the side effects are reversible after discontinuation. Medical and scientific evidence indicate that certain assumptions involved in urine testing are basically invalid, including the interpretation of positive test results, and their implications. For example, marijuana intoxication lasts only a few minutes, but may cause a positive test result for weeks afterwards; a one-time user may test equally positive as a chronic user. It is questionable whether the perceived benefits of urine testing are worth the loss of the constitutionally guaranteed freedoms, the 4th, 5th, 9th, and 14th amendments and the creation of an oppressive police state. 2 tables, 66 notes.