In November 2016 the South African Institute for Drugfree Sport (SAIDS) has reported an anti-doping rule violation against the hockey player James Drummond after his sample tested positive for the prohibited substances Ephedrine and Cannabis in a concentration above the WADA threshold.
After notification a provisional suspension was ordered. The Athlete filed a statement in his defence and he was heard for the SAIDS Anti-Doping Disciplinary Committee.
The Athlete accepted the test results and gave a prompt admission for smoking Cannabis out of competition. The Athlete argued that the Sunlife energy drink tablets he had used were the source of the prohited substance Ephedrine.
The Panel finds that the Athlete intentionally used Cannabis in a context unrelated to sport performance and that he failed to establish how the substance Ephedrine entered his system.
The Panel considers that Laboratory analysis of the drink tablets in question showed they only contained some Ephedrine within permissible limits and these levels found are inconsistent with the hight concentration Ephedrine detected in the Athlete’s sample.
In addition the Panel notes that there appears to be a widespread use of Cannabis amongst young sport stars at school and university level. Also the Panel observes that there is a large scale promotion of supplements and energy drinks through product sponsorships of certain players while it is not communicated that these products may contain an element of Ephedrine.
Finally the SAIDS Anti-Doping Disciplinary Committee decides on 17 July 2017 to impose a 2 year period of ineligibility on the Athlete starting on the date of the provisional suspension, i.e. on 6 November 2016.
