Comments on: Hair testing for sport and social drugs

By: Dr Tom Bassindale

Dr Tom Bassindale — Fri, 12 Jul 2013 22:03:15 +0000

In reply to Sophie Ellis. That would be one way to insure against failing the test, yes!

By: Sophie Ellis

Sophie Ellis — Fri, 12 Jul 2013 19:56:05 +0000

Would it be sensible for him to cut his dreadlocks?

By: Dr Tom Bassindale

Dr Tom Bassindale — Fri, 12 Jul 2013 19:52:54 +0000

In reply to rick.

Hi Rick,
That is a very hard question to answer. Dreads may take longer to grow away from the scalp so the time course will not be the same as for other hair. That said most hair tests only look for 1-3 months of drug use history so would likely not cover the time you may have taken any drugs they are looking for. Sorry I can’t be more black or white over this!
Thanks
Tom .

By: rick

rick — Sat, 06 Jul 2013 15:54:01 +0000

I have a hair drug test on Monday for a job and I have dreadlocks and the last time I did something was a year ago and that was ecstasy just two pills will I pass my test.

By: Dr Tom Bassindale

Dr Tom Bassindale — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 09:54:14 +0000

In reply to John Robertson.

Hi John,
Thanks very much for the link, I hadn’t seen that.
A few comments on the article (not the full report which I will have to try and get hold of):

Interpretation – I see this as the biggest issue with hair testing. How the drug entered the hair is not certain, we can perform measurements to help aid this (to see whether it is likely to be from external contamination) but as I showed in the paper on methamphetamine lab children it is still possible to test positive even if it is very unlikely you have used a drug (given other factors such as passive exposure).

The report states ‘A reported positive test result is not necessarily conclusive of ingestion’ – I agree to an extent. It proves that the drug is within the hair sample tested. The analytical methods are sound, but how the drug got there is not entirely known – see above!

However, some of the excuses listed do not seem to be very convincing, brushing powder off a seat? I would suggest their evidence handling procedures need to be looked at!

Dose response relationships are one other area that needs to be looked at with caution, I didn’t like the way the Maynard inquest was told his levels in hair were those of someone who used daily – how was that determined?

I think their is enough literature on the subject and enough evaluation has been completed to use hair in various scenarios, but with some level of caution in making things black and white.

Interesting thoughts tho’, may well write them up a little more later!
Thanks again
Tom

By: John Robertson

John Robertson — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 16:14:32 +0000

What do you make of this story from Boston finding “the present state of hair testing for drugs of abuse ... does not meet the standard of reliability necessary to be routinely used”?

By: Dr Tom Bassindale

Dr Tom Bassindale — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 01:12:27 +0000

Cheers Ben, I didn’t realise climbing was a competitive sport to the extent they might do drug testing!

If I remember correctly Boonen was never suspended by the sporting authorities but by his team? He tested positive three times out of competition over three years. The Tour de France also suggested he didn’t enter one year due to that.

I think rather then Glen Plake there would be a lot of Michael Klim look-alikes if this was bought in : )

By: Ben Lowe

Ben Lowe — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 14:37:08 +0000

I remember back in the late 90’s early 0’s some local rock climbers here in Sheffield starting to complete and became nervous about in-competition hair samples being taken with the culture in the climbing scene for ‘social drugs’. The trend for dreadlocks and long hair in general did seem to change to very short hair around that time although I’m sure more due to a coincidental change in fashion than anything else.
Tom Bonnen popped a positive for cocaine a few years ago and I believe he was suspended more due to his status as a national role model in Belgium than for any WADA violations. Bringing the sport into disrepute is enough for a ban depending on the national body’s perspective on things.
If the testers took a mouse cable’s worth of hair each month then after a couple of years everyone with long hair could look like Glen Plake.

By: Yashaswini

Yashaswini — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 14:01:23 +0000

It’s very interesting to read all the comments made above. You’ve also raised the issue of funding in cricket for more comprehensive testing. I come from the part of the world where cricket is a multibillion dollar business with players often experiencing burnout and fatigue issues due to tight schedules. So far nobody has failed a dope test. It would be interesting to see if hair testing is trialed as a sampling method in this part of the world for monitoring doping.

By: Dr Tom Bassindale

Dr Tom Bassindale — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 09:09:29 +0000

In reply to Sophie Ellis.

Hi Sophie, thanks for the comment. The stimulant effect in competition could mean that they are able to bowl a bit faster or run a bit quicker than without. I am not sure MDMA would do much for their aggression though.

I think you are completely spot on with the targeted testing approach. Also sports do take seriously the education of their players around the use of drugs including alcohol. Again the FA are very good on this. For performance enhancing drugs the testers already target certain sports more and individuals they have doubts on more than others too.

I think the hair length issue will actually be a very big sticking point in negotiations.

Thanks again