Hall Schools plans to battle performance enhancing drugs

GAINESVILLE - Hall County School Board members this past week agreed it is time to make students, coaches, and parents more aware of the potential problem of performance enhancing drug use at the high school level.

Hall County plans to observe  Performance Enhancing Drugs Awareness Week in early December, endorsed by Governor Nathan Deal.

System Community Relations and Athletic Director Gordon Higgins says the goal is education.

"It's a matter of getting the information out there," Higgins said. "Even things considered perfectly legal supplements sold in places like health food stores or online at Amazon could be potentially hazardous. It may be a over a year before it's found what's in some of this stuff."

Higgins said it is estimated that two million high school athletes nationwide use performance enhancing drugs.

The school system plans to distribute a performance drug awareness video, according to Higgins.The video, from a seminar recently conducted by sports trainer and former law officer Greg Cochran, provides important information.

" He had a previous career dealing with narcotics and drugs and saw a lot of this in that position," Higgins said.  "He continues to see evidence of performance enhancing drugs in the gym."

Higgins added the 30 minute video of the seminar, held at Northeast Georgia Medical Center, should be ready in about a month. The Johnson High School Video Department is doing the editing of the two hour seminar.