Passing a drug test isn't rocket science

By DARRELL FRY

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 9, 2001

TAMPA -- This is where they come. Men in suits. Women in dresses. Guys in sweat pants. Girls in jeans.

They might browse through the assortment of items sold in this place, which most people think of as a head shop. But eventually they wander over to the glass counter near the register.

That's where the detox products are displayed. The products are sold in a variety of small, out-of-the-way shops like this one, called Perfect Place, off Armenia Avenue. They are clinically tested and legally sold, their purpose to cleanse the body of toxins, but the people who patronize these places often use them for something else.

Passing drug tests.

Job applicants who must pass a drug test buy them. And, according to people who work in and patronize these shops, some athletes do, too.

The effectiveness of these products is debatable. Don Catlin, who runs an IOC-backed drug lab at UCLA, doesn't put much stock in them, but he said not much testing has been done on these products in recent years, so "you never really know if there are some that really work."

Chuck Yesalis, a professor in the College of Health and Human Development at Penn State says: "There are over-the-counter products that can help circumvent a test, but some of them are bogus."

That's about as definitive an answer as you'll get on the subject. But given the number of drug-testing problems we've seen in sports, would it surprise you that some funny business was going on?

Let's be real about this. Athletes are using drugs. Some, not all.

We didn't need to hear about Suns forward Cliff Robinson being arrested for marijuana possession to know that. And we would be naive to think that at least some athletes aren't trying to beat these tests at any cost.

"The only people who get caught (with drugs in their system) are either stupid or careless," Yesalis said. "In the NBA and some other sports, (athletes) know when they're going to be tested. That's a farce. If you know when you're going to be tested, just cleanse your system out before the test. That ain't rocket science."

The detox products claim to cleanse the system of "toxins," although some will only mask them. Typically the products are used more to hide, say, marijuana, than performance-enhancing drugs. You pop a few pills a few days before the test, gulp lots of water and you might be home free.

Some products claim to work within an hour and provide a clean test for up to five hours. Some even come with a home urine test that, according to one product pamphlet, "gives you the peace of mind that your detox worked correctly."

Randy Oravetz, director of sports medicine at Florida State, said many drug tests given to college athletes aren't designed to specifically detect detox products but that sometimes officials are able to tell from signs such as abnormal pH levels.

Still, Oravetz said, drug tests can have holes, which means some athletes likely are slipping through the cracks and staying on the playing field. It's little wonder, then, that cheating is becoming almost widespread.

The 1998 Tour de France was smeared by drug accusations. During the last Olympics, in Sydney, dozens of athletes were mired in drug controversies. A White House study suggests as many as 90 percent of the athletes in some sports are using drugs.

This, mind you, after the IOC supposedly instituted its most proactive testing program ever.

"I think (drug testing) is done more for public relations and to convince the fans than anything else," Yesalis said. "It doesn't work. It's becoming epidemic."

The only thing less reliable than a drug test is Florida's voting system. Organizations like the IOC and the NCAA have to come up with foolproof methods. That may not be doable, but it should at least be the goal.

It starts with research. And research means money. Lots of it. Yesalis estimated about $100-million over five years would be sufficient.

Then, organizing officials have to turn the testing process over to objective labs that are impervious to outside influences. That would prevent a repeat of the accusations that flew around Sydney that U.S. officials were covering up positive drug tests.

"You have to place the whole thing in totally objective hands that will administer the tests and assess the results," Yesalis said. "That's the only way you're going to get a system that will stand up in court."

Getting these detox products off the market wouldn't hurt, either. At least the ones that might be effective.

They shouldn't be hard to find. Just follow the athletes.

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