Tramadol, a synthetic opioid painkilling drug is not banned in sport under World Anti Doping Agency regulations. It is however, rather controversial. Over the past five or so years there have been several calls for it to be banned. This week it has been reported to have been used in…
Tag: policy
Blog
Read more
Why are some drugs banned in sport? WADA Prohibited list
I often get asked why some drugs are banned in sport and others aren’t. Here’s a quick run down and an update on the World Anti Doping Agency Prohibited List 2018. The Three Tests Is the drug: Potentially performance enhancing? A health risk for athletes? Against the ‘spirit of…
Blog
Read more
Transparency and missed doping control tests
Recently there have been increasing calls for transparency in sports drug testing,one issue being around missed tests. The Armitstead affair brought this issue to the fore last month. Should athletes have a right to privacy or should all such test statistics be freely searchable on the internet? British cyclist and current…
Blog
Read more
Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 – The end of legal highs?
From midnight (starting 26 May 2016) the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 comes into effect, aiming to stamp out the market in ‘legal highs’ or novel psychoactive substances. The Act, which has seen several delays this year, will make it an offence to import, sell, supply or produce any substance knowing that it…
Blog
Read more
Forensic Science in the General Election 2015
With only a few weeks to go until the General Election 2015 in the UK, I thought I would look at the major party manifestos and see if there were any hints on their vision for the future of forensic science. I have perused the major party (Conservative, Labour, Liberal…
Blog
Read more
Doping – rationalising the banned substance list
Last week one of the worlds quickest men Asafa Powell failed a drug test for the banned stimulant oxilofrine. This is thought to be a component of a sports supplement, maybe a contaminant, but is it performance enhancing and why is it banned? Should it be banned? It…