Drug Testing

In our society, steroids and drugs are becoming a huge part in sports. Not only the illegal drugs, but also the supplements and different things that can be put in the body to make you better. Typically you find the use of these supplements more in male athletes, but female athletes are not excluded.

Each month the NCAA does random drug testing. You are informed the night before, and then have to report to the drug testing site the next morning. The test is done with a urine sample, and there are very strict requirements and rules that have to be followed in the process. The NCAA tests for stimulants, anabolic agents, alcohol and beta blockers, diuretics and other masking agents, street drugs, peptide hormones and analogues, anti-estrogens, and beta-2 agonists. There are drugs and procedures that are also subject to restrictions, they are: blood doping, local anesthetics, manipulation of urine samples, beta-2 agonists permitted only by prescription, and caffeine if concentrations in urine exceed 15 micrograms.

Each university/institution can also run their own drug tests. Since the NCAA does not test for street drugs, most institutions also run their own random drug tests. They typically test for narcotics and street drugs in addition to the same drugs that the NCAA tests for.

Penalty for a positive drug test from the NCAA, the student-athlete will be declared ineligible for one year and is withheld from athletic competition. They are still allowed to train and practice with the team, but they are not allowed to be used in competition. If an athlete tests positive on a drug test from the university, then it is treated by the institution and different penalties will result.

For the full list of banned substances go to www.ncaa.org

Drugs are very dangerous substances, and they are not something that should be taken lightly. The harm the body, and it is not something that athletes should be putting in their bodies.