TRENTON, NJ – New Jersey is the first state in the nation to take statewide action to address the growing issue of high school steroid use. In late December, New Jersey’s Acting Governor Richard J. Codey (photo at left) signed an executive order that would put into place a program that will randomly test high school teams and individuals qualifying for championship games for steroids beginning with the 2006-2007 school year. The order also calls for the Department of Health and Senior Services to develop and implement a program to randomly test dietary supplement products for sale in New Jersey to detect steroid contamination, and various other orders directing the Department of Education to work with the Department of Health and Senior Services and other agencies to implement a broad-range of educational components from the fifth grade level on up through high school.
“We’ve all seen the statistics and read the articles about the impact that steroids are having on kids. This is a growing public health threat, one we can’t leave up to individual parents, coaches or schools to handle,” said Codey. “This report puts us at the forefront in dealing with the problem of steroids. Today, we are putting this plan into action and becoming the first state in the nation to address this problem on a statewide level.”