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(Trooper Stacey Rasanen has been a trooper at the Negaunee State Police Post for sixteen years.  She is also the Community Service Trooper and the Car Seat Technician at the Negaunee Post.)

Recently I attended the “Life of An Athlete” conference at Northern Michigan University.  I was able to hear John Underwood speak about the negative effects of drugs and alcohol on the body.  Mr. Underwood is internationally known for his coaching and advising of Olympic athletes.  He is a crusader for drug-free sports at all levels.

I learned from Mr. Underwood that it is important to keep children involved in school activities.  Only 2% of athletes go on to play at the college level, but through sports, children are able to learn other useful tools like pride, commitment and responsibility.  They will carry these tools with then throughout their life.  Children who get involved in alcohol and drugs at an early age are hurting themselves physically and decreasing their chance in life, whether it is in establishing and maintaining a successful career, or going onto college or the military.  Law enforcement has seen an increase in drug use over the last year.  This increase causes concern that more children may get involved in drugs and alcohol rather than being involved in school.

Mr. Underwood showed pictures of brain scans that display how drugs and alcohol affect the human brain.  The younger a child gets involved with alcohol and drugs the more damage is done to their brain.  Some of the points Mr. Underwood told us about in this lecture made us wonder if it is really worth it to drink alcohol.  Even for just one night; this can ruin two weeks of working out!  In addition, a student-athlete’s performance potential with one night of heavy drinking can be affected as much as 20-30%.  Another important point that was brought to our attention is that THC content in marijuana is 40% higher now than in the 1960’s and 1970’s, which causes more damage to a person’s body.  The cleanout rate for most state drug courts is 30 days for Cannabinoids/THC.

I encourage the public to look at these websites to get more information about Mr. John Underwood and the American Athletic Institute at www.aaisport.org and www.lifeofanathlete.com

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