The Legality of Testing Student-Athletes for Drugs and the Unique Issue of Consent
IN the past three years, the drug issue has exploded onto the national scene. Publications devote significant pages detailing the horrors of drug abuse and the extent of society's addiction to illegal drugs like cocaine and its potent derivative, crack. President Reagan, declaring a "War on Drugs," has issued an executive order requiring that certain federal employees submit to urinalysis to prove that they are drug-free. The testing of private employees in the workplace for the use of drugs has become commonplace. State legislatures are currently grappling with the issues of whether state employees should be subjected to mandatory drug testing or whether private employers should be allowed to test for illegal drug use. One can argue that this nation is paranoid over drug abuse. Furthermore, it does not take a seer to predict that this issue has broader ramifications than the more narrow question of testing for illicit drug use;' it is likely the same arguments will be made concerning the legality of mandatory testing for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).