New K2 drug becoming concern in athletics
Company has heard from NCAA schools concerned on issue.
Doug Tucker • The Associated Press • May 2, 2010
Kansas City — The company that does drug testing for the NFL, NCAA and more than 100 U.S. schools is coming up with a way to detect a troubling new synthetic substance that mimics the effects of marijuana and is so far legal in 49 states. The lab-made drug known as K2, King Krypto and Spice, among other names, is well known in Europe and authorities say it’s been banned in countries including Germany, Russia, Sweden and England.
It began showing up in the United States only about six months ago, federal authorities say, and Kansas outlawed it in March. A ban at the federal level could take months, if not years.
The NCAA declined to comment on the drug, but the agency it pays to conduct drug testing is already working on a test to detect K2 use after hearing from a number of schools concerned about it.
By this fall, the National Center for Drug Free Sport Inc. hopes to have a test ready to go for college athletes, many of whom may be especially tempted by the drug.
“What you see with college kids is they’re young and they think they’re invincible,” said Barbara Carreno, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. “They don’t have a sense of their own mortality yet. And with this, they’re not going to get thrown in jail. It’s got a lot of appeal.”
The NCAA bans a broad swath of substances, including marijuana, and anything “chemically related” to those substances whether they are performance enhancers or recreational drugs. (more…)
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May 12th, 2009
ATHLETE POT USE RISING - EASIER TO GET
FINDING AND HELPING STUDENTS AT RISK
FOR USE AND CONTINUED USE OF POT
John Underwood AAI
Marijuana use by athlete population is on the rise. Alcohol strategies are making it increasingly more difficult to access alcohol and as a result pot use even in the athlete population is becoming more prevalent. The recent additions of breathalyzer testing for school functions, as well as the anticipated plan for public schools to formulate a process and procedure to deal with students under the influence of alcohol at school or in conjunction with school functions, which will be drug testing (breathalyzer), will only support a continued increase in pot use. (more…)
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May 12th, 2009
POT USE ON THE RISE, DO WE DESERVE WHAT WE HAVE ACCEPTED?
Marijuana’s renewed popularity is not limited to any single group of young people. It encompasses wealthy, middle-class, and low-income families. It thrives in suburban, urban, and rural youth populations. It includes high achievers and average students. It involves every ethnicity and every kind of household. As one student reminded me, “A lot of people think it’s just low-life and troubled kids who drink and do weed. But it’s not. Everybody’s doing it…” Realizing that today’s kids of course overestimate on the norms side of predictions of use, they certainly know better than any adult what their friends and peers are doing. For adults to side with norms adjusters, who would have us believe that youth behaviors are greatly exaggerated is the basis for much of our problem in confronting the surge in marijuana use by our youth. Imagine an athlete who has been caught in a violation for using marijuana. They will receive the same consequences for use of marijuana as for drinking a beer. What is the difference? Well first, marijuana is classified as an illicit street drug. Alcohol is an illegal drug by age (21 years for anyone who forgot). Through decades of desensitization, we have arrived at a time and place, where both are now side by side on the same shelf. What a colossal mistake. To think as many do, that alcohol is the dangerous one… that pot isn’t as bad, doesn’t make people violent, doesn’t kill people etc. etc…rationalize away. (more…)
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May 12th, 2009
What’s in a name?
Student Athlete Chemical Health
During the past five years, we have used the name “chemical health” for our program for athletes in New York State. This has been a wise move, considering that the prior name was conveyed as “Anti Drug”. The negative connotation or stigma attached to a program with drug in it creates a much larger hurdle to clear in this day and age. We can also use this as a wide spectrum program that also encompasses both performance enhancing drugs, supplements, and energy drinks. We have programs in each of these areas, which can impact choices by athletes. We encourage school districts, colleges and universities to use the name chemical health for any program which deals with prevention or intervention in these areas. (more…)
Posted in Alcohol, Energy Drinks, Marijuana, Prescription Drugs, Steroids & Supplements, Tobacco | No Comments, Add a Comment
