I have a bit of experience with false positives.  I ran track in high
school and college in the 70's.  I also have asthma.  Asthma, then and now,
is frequently treated with epinephrine, psyduoepinephrine, theophyline and
several other medications that will trigger false positives in the
amphetamine class of drugs.  Towards the end of my track career drug
testing was starting to appear, mostly at the larger meets and when major
records were in question.  At the time drug use among track and field
athletes was a real problem.  I had frequently raced against athletes who
were openly using stimulants (steroid use was still rare) and I felt there
was a certain amount of justification for the testing.  I also knew that
since the age of three there probably was no time in my life that I would
not trigger a false positive on a urine test.
 
Since the case of the US Olympic swimmer who lost his medal because he used
an asthma medication there were policies in place to deal with people like
me, but I still found it one of the most humiliating and degrading
experiences of my life.  It was definitely a case of guilty until proven
innocent.  Sometimes I could not receive medals, team points or even credit
until weeks after I ran a race.  A stigma definitely surrounded my career.
Instead of being congratulated for overcoming a serious medical condition I
was made to feel embarrassed for having an unfair advantage.  Believe me
chronic asthma is no advantage in anything.  I am sure this problem was
exacerbated by my hair length and political views, even though amongst my
friends I was known to be (and still am) extremely anti-drug.
 
This situation came to a head in my attempt to set the NCAA Division III
record for the 600 yard dash (yes it was so long ago we were still using
yards).  It was not a very common race and I only had two chances a year
during the indoor season to get the record.  At the first meet I came very
close and at the second meet several runners from other teams offered to
pace me and generally a lot of excitement was brewing (well for Division
III it was exciting).  During the race the officials got "confused" and
brought out the finish line at the quarter mile mark.  Everyone was
outraged, these things just don't happen.  The other runners wanted to run
the race over as did most of the coaches.  The officials refused and my
team doctor insisted that it was because they did not want to deal with the
publicity my urine test was going to cause.  I graduated and never had
another shot at the record.
 
I've also had to have drug tests as a condition of employment, but only
several years after I had been hired and I had a union to back me up
through the justification process, which I might add is not as simple as
getting a note from your doctor.  Again the burden of proof is on you and
stigma can result.  I have often wondered what would happen if I had to
take a test as a condition of being hired.  Would the employer be willing
to go through the expenses of extra testing or would I just be eliminated
at that point with only a cumbersome court process to fall back on.  While
drugs scare me, even the ones I take to stay alive, this violation of my
basic rights and dignity scares me more.
 
Peter Holben Wehr
 
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Peter Holben Wehr
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Museum & Education Technology Consultant
(718) 721-3761
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