SUMMIT: YOUTH STEROID USE RISING CONFERENCE FOCUSES ON PROBLEMS OF DOPING IN CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS

An estimated 20,000 high school athletes in California usedsteroids last year, the California Interscholastic Federation warnedTuesday during a Steroids and Athletic Stimulants Summit at the LAXMarriott.

The conference, the first of its kind in California, broughtschool, law enforcement and Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) officialstogether in an effort to combat the rising use of performance-enhancing drugs in gymnasiums and on ballfields of high schoolsacross the state.

"I think with younger people they sometimes can have a feeling ofinvincibility and they don't really think of the long termconsequences," Taft High of Woodland Hills football coach Troy Starrsaid.

"I think that it's gotten a lot of attention. It's in the healthclasses and it's talked about in school. But it's a tough sellsometimes because kids want the edge and, you know, they work. ...Ben Johnson took them and won the gold medal."

Nationally, steroid use is up 39 percent since 1996. Californiahas no state-sponsored study to determine the number of steroidusers at its high schools.

Officials applied the percentage of high school athletesnationwide to the 655,000 athletes who participate in CIF-sponsoredsports to reach the estimate.

"I don't think that even comes close to the actual number ofathletes who take steroids," said State Senator Jackie Speier, D-San Francisco, author of anti-steroid legislation.

The issue has the attention of President George Bush, whodenounced the use of steroids in his State of the Union address inJanuary, saying, "The use of performance-enhancing drugs, likesteroids, in baseball, football and other sports is dangerous and itsends the wrong message."

Only 57 percent of students in a 2001 poll perceived a risk intaking steroids, though they are known to cause heart attacks,severe depression, mood swings, acne and other gender-specificeffects.

Scott Burns, deputy director of the National Drug Control Policyat the White House, said the public's apathy toward the dangers ofsteroid use has been perpetuated by unapologetic admissions of druguse by former athletes such as Ken Caminiti.

"He said he didn't regret using steroids in 1996," Burns said."He said, 'I couldn't have achieved what I did without them becauseeveryone else around me was doing it.' "

Caminiti's death this week at age 41 might help to increaseawareness of the situation. Caminiti's cause of death was listed asa heart attack but his young age and past drug use could raise redflags throughout the athletic community.

It is increasingly easy for student-athletes to obtain steroids,and other stimulants, in California, the panel announced. Ofparticular concern is the proximity to Mexico, where steroids havebeen obtained in the past without a prescription.

"There are 1,500 pharmacies in Tijuana compared to 400 in SanDiego," San Diego DEA Officer John Fernandez said. "Tijuana is ahaven for those that go south of the border for steroids. There's aroad in San Diego called the Roid Highway."

Although prescriptions are necessary now to obtain steroids inMexico, enforcement of the law is not as stringent as the U.S. wouldlike.

Organizers introduced a two-pronged solution for California'sstudent-athletes who might consider using steroids, which focuses onlimiting access, be it either in Mexico or over the Internet.

Speier proposed an anti-steroid bill that Governor ArnoldSchwarzenegger, a former Mr. Universe bodybuilder, vetoed last week.It would have required high school coaches to be trained in thedangers of steroids and would have developed a list of bannedsubstances for high school sports. She urged the CIF to adopt theelements of the bill even though it would not be passed into law atthis time.

"I think CIF could require all schools in the state to meet thestandards," Speier said.

In June 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 4-3 to allow randomdrug tests for any public-school students participating inextracurricular activities.

The CIF endorsed Speier on the whole but stopped short ofadopting all of her proposals.

"I support what she's doing philosophically," Marie Ishida, CIFexecutive director, said. "But some aspects of the bill, for examplemandatory drug testing (in high schools), we're not there yet."

Staff Writer Ramona Shelburne contributed to this report.

Lauren Gustus, (818) 713-3607

lauren.gustus(at)dailynews.com