Frankly Speaking

By Frank Uryasz, President, Drug Free Sport™

Educate athletes on varying stimulant rules and uses

Much of the attention the last few years on the use of drugs in sport has been on the abuse of anabolic steroids. Anabolic steroids are banned by most major sports organizations. We must continue to educate athletes about the harmful effects of these substances and must continue to operate year-round testing programs to deter use. However, there are other banned substances, such as stimulants, that deserve our continued attention, too.

Most sports organizations ban the use of stimulants. In some cases, the ban applies immediately before, during or after competition. However, this is not always the case, and for many athletes the ban of stimulants exists both in and out of competition settings. Specific stimulants included on banned substance lists differ by organization. For example, the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA’s) ban on stimulants in competition includes pseudoephedrine (added in 2010), but not caffeine. The NCAA, on the other hand, bans caffeine and reports as positive any caffeine level greater than 15 mcg/mL., but does not ban pseudoephedrine. Therefore, educating athletes about the differences in the list of banned drugs is an important component to any drug education program.

Basic street drug testing programs normally include testing for two stimulants: amphetamine and methamphetamine. Generally, athletes are not a high risk group for methamphetamine use, but amphetamine abuse is well documented in the athlete population. A more comprehensive stimulants test panel is advised in sport because the basic amphetamine/methamphetamine screens will not detect the presence of other stimulants such as methylphenidate or caffeine.

Stimulants are often prescribed for medical conditions such as narcolepsy, ADD or ADHD. Athletes should be counseled to inform their sports-medicine providers of their stimulants use and, if use is not medically necessary, it should be discontinued or participation in the sport should be ended. If use is medically justified, the athlete still must request approval for the medical use of the banned drug. Athletes must be educated that prescription drugs might also be banned drugs!

Please feel free to contact me or another member of the Drug Free Sport staff if you have any questions about stimulant use in sport.
Drug Free Sport Insight for many years has educated its readers about the abuse of drugs in sport. Insight has featured comprehensive articles on growth hormone, caffeine, EPO and many others. The complete archives of Insight articles can be located here.