By Tom Bergeron
Rivals High Senior Editor

Salem (Va.) High took a hard look at its decades-old anti-drug policies - a written pledge of abstinence enforced by an honor code - and came to a few conclusions:

* It was having no measurable impact on the student-athletes;

* Only the most honorable of kids were being punished;

* It was, simply put, becoming a joke that no one took seriously.

Knowing the issue of substance abuse - or at least experimentation - was as prevalent as ever in society, the school decided to take stronger action.

This school year, Salem High will begin randomly drug testing its student-athletes (or any participating in a sanctioned extra-curricular activity) from grades 7-12.

"The support for it in the community has been tremendous," Curtis Hicks, the director of secondary instruction in the City of Salem Public School District, said. "We've had people call us and thank us.

"We realize parents are in a difficult spot these days. All the data indicates that marijuana and alcohol is readily available."

Salem is believed to be the only school in Virginia - and one of just a few around the country - administering random drug tests of its student-athletes.

Here's how it will work:

Hicks estimates half of the district's 2,300 students will be eligible to be tested (by urine sample) - and that roughly 150 students will be tested each school year at a cost of $49 per sample.

Tests will be conducted at least three times a sports season. And while those selected to participate will be chosen randomly by the company administering the tests, safeguards will be put in place to assure at least one member of every activity is selected each time.

The samples will be reviewed a medical review officer. If a student tests positive, the student and their parents will be notified at the same time.

A first offense will result in a 14-day ban from the activity and must meet with an intervention specialist, who will attempt to assess the severity of the problem and establish requirements needed for the student to return.

Hicks notes, however, that the students will be allowed and encouraged to stay with their team, they just won't be able to practice or play.

"We want our kids to continue to be around positive influences - their coaches, their teammates," he said.

A second failed test would result in an 84-day (or 12-week) ban, which would effectively end that sport season. A third failed test would make the student permanently ineligible for extracurricular activities.

Hicks, of course, doesn't want it to come to that. The purpose of the tests, he said, is not to catch kids - but to give them incentive to do the right thing when confronted with drugs or alcohol.

"When kids have to make a moral decision, it some times puts them at odds with their peers," Hicks said. "It creates tension where there doesn't need to be.

"Now when they're in the situation it's not, 'No, I don't want to,' it's, 'No, I can't.' We went to empower are kids with one more tool in the toolbox."

Liability or law suits are not a concern, according to Hicks.

"Students are choosing to participate in an extra activity," he said. "Because of that, we are able to hold them to a higher standard."

As for privacy issues: "A physical," Hicks said, "is probably more of an invasion of privacy."

Safety and Compliance System of Roanoke, Va. - the company that will administer the tests - has worked with school districts on many occasions since it was founded 21 years ago.

But its president, Tim Fitzgerald, said this the first time its testing has involved students. He understands the unique issues that will present and said his staff is getting extra training because of it.

"You're dealing with egos and testosterone," he said. "And you've got the youth factor. Kids are just going to be kids, and want to play jokes and not take it seriously. But they're also scared."

Fitzgerald, who said he already has received inquires from other districts in Virginia, hopes he'll see the testing spread. It's a good thing, he said.

"You have to think about how many youths are killed every weekend in a car," he said. 'And the majority of those are drug- or alcohol-related. What's the value of a child? One child is worth every dime they are spending."

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