ZERO TOLERANCE MANIA
The US was stripped of its 1600 relay gold from the 2003 World Championships. Calvin Harrison was found guilty of his second doping violation. His first doping violation was 10 years ago, during the 1993 US junior indoor championships. He tested positive for pseudoephedrine, the active ingredient in over-the-counter medicines like Sudafed.
The authors of a book on performance-enhancing drugs stated that
This time, they found modafinil, a mild stimulant, in Harrison's system. Harrison contended that modafinil is not specifically mentioned as a banned substance, but he did not appeal the ruling before the deadline, so now there are new relay champions. Modifinil is not an anabolic steroid like you think of when you think of Arnold Schwarzenegger or Lyle Alzado. Most experts do not believe that modifinil has any performance-enhancing capabilities, unlike the better known steroids. It would be like buying one of those protein shakes and hoping that it will promote faster muscle growth, but there's no proof that it will actually help.
I fully expect multi-vitamins to either make the list, or be grounds for medal stripping in the near future because they're also performance-enhancing drugs.
Since we're talking about zero-tolerance policies, I'll tell you about my personal experience. One of the two boys in this picture, was getting beaten up at school by a bully. We have always taught him to never start a fight, but if he is in physical danger, he should defend himself. Well, he fought back, and he was suspended.
The guidance counselor stated that the boy that was beating him up was a bully and had a history of beating up other kids. He also said that it was clear that our boy didn't start the fight and that he was only defending himself, but the zero-tolerance policy mandates that both boys be suspended.
Granted, the bully was suspended for a week and our boy was only suspended for a day, but he should not have been suspended AT ALL. Why should he bear a punishment for doing something that any sane individual would have done? If he were an adult, would he have been convicted of self-defense and jailed, even for one day, or would the city consider fining him for defending himself? This is beyond ridiculous, which explains why zero-tolerance criticisms are strongly bi-partisan.
MORE ZERO-TOLERANCE = ZERO-INTELLIGENCE
Civil Rights Groups Fight Eviction of Battered Women Under "Zero Tolerance" Housing Policy
A Colorado Springs, Colo., school district says it did the right thing when it suspended 6-year-old Seamus Morris under the school's zero-tolerance drug policy. The drug? Lemon drops, and boys suspended for playing with water guns.
ACLU Sues Michigan School for Suspending Honor Student Who Privately Criticized Tardiness Policy. Student was suspended for ten days for committing a "verbal assault" because he allegedly assaulted "the dignity of a person."
11-year old boy's "Home Alone" drawings causes call from school to police, then prosecuting attorney who filed a family services petition.
The authors of a book on performance-enhancing drugs stated that
Another important issue... is how athletes may also inadvertently use a drug that is banned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Those drugs are usually central nervous system stimulants, pseudoephedrine hydrochloride (found in Robitussin-PE) and phenylpropanolamine hydrochloride (found in Triaminic Cold Tablets and weight control suppressants).So, in addition to not being able to use an inhaler for asthma, you cannot take anything for your allergies or cold or flu or drink too much coffee if you want to be an athlete, because they could be "performance-enhancing" drugs. Alright, the coffee part I can uderstand, and I understand that psuedoephedrine can be abused, just like any drug, but most of the time, psuedoephedrine "abusers" are making meth, which would be anything but performance-enhancing. Not to mention, he was just a kid when he had his first "doping" violation. He probably just got sick and his mom gave him some OTC medicine.
"Athletes often use these over-the-counter drugs for health reasons, unaware of the potential threat to their competitive status," said co-author Dr. John DiGregorio, professor of Pharmacology and Medicine, Allegheny.
Caffeine used by competitive athletes is considered illegal if the amount measured in the urine is greater then 12 micrograms/ML (about six to eight cups of coffee). "It is banned," Dr. DiGregorio noted, "because it can increase muscle contraction, improve performance, and increase the time to fatigue or exhaustion during prolonged moderate or intense exercise."
This time, they found modafinil, a mild stimulant, in Harrison's system. Harrison contended that modafinil is not specifically mentioned as a banned substance, but he did not appeal the ruling before the deadline, so now there are new relay champions. Modifinil is not an anabolic steroid like you think of when you think of Arnold Schwarzenegger or Lyle Alzado. Most experts do not believe that modifinil has any performance-enhancing capabilities, unlike the better known steroids. It would be like buying one of those protein shakes and hoping that it will promote faster muscle growth, but there's no proof that it will actually help.
I fully expect multi-vitamins to either make the list, or be grounds for medal stripping in the near future because they're also performance-enhancing drugs.
Since we're talking about zero-tolerance policies, I'll tell you about my personal experience. One of the two boys in this picture, was getting beaten up at school by a bully. We have always taught him to never start a fight, but if he is in physical danger, he should defend himself. Well, he fought back, and he was suspended.
The guidance counselor stated that the boy that was beating him up was a bully and had a history of beating up other kids. He also said that it was clear that our boy didn't start the fight and that he was only defending himself, but the zero-tolerance policy mandates that both boys be suspended.
Granted, the bully was suspended for a week and our boy was only suspended for a day, but he should not have been suspended AT ALL. Why should he bear a punishment for doing something that any sane individual would have done? If he were an adult, would he have been convicted of self-defense and jailed, even for one day, or would the city consider fining him for defending himself? This is beyond ridiculous, which explains why zero-tolerance criticisms are strongly bi-partisan.
MORE ZERO-TOLERANCE = ZERO-INTELLIGENCE
Civil Rights Groups Fight Eviction of Battered Women Under "Zero Tolerance" Housing Policy
A Colorado Springs, Colo., school district says it did the right thing when it suspended 6-year-old Seamus Morris under the school's zero-tolerance drug policy. The drug? Lemon drops, and boys suspended for playing with water guns.
ACLU Sues Michigan School for Suspending Honor Student Who Privately Criticized Tardiness Policy. Student was suspended for ten days for committing a "verbal assault" because he allegedly assaulted "the dignity of a person."
11-year old boy's "Home Alone" drawings causes call from school to police, then prosecuting attorney who filed a family services petition.
posted by Rene at
1:09 PM
