A drug's a drug - or is it??

[Francois]

I just feel like stirring the pot a bit and also getting everybody to think a bit?

 

 

 

When is a drug a drug? There are many (and I mean MANY) pills/medicines/supplements that anybody can buy that are not illegal according to the laws of the country, but according to drug free sport etc are illegal for use in sport because they could be performance enhancing / a masking agent / or bad for a sports person?s health.

 

 

 

Define performance enhancing ? If one eats plenty of pasta compared to one?s, say normal, meals of steak and one gets better because of it, is this performance enhancing? Can the vitamins one takes be considered performance enhancing? My mutli-vit pack certainly helps me? Then one says, no it?s ok because it?s not bad for ones health. But taking too many vitamins can be bad for ones health, damage the kidneys etc.

 

 

 

In my opinion it?s a very thin line between drugs (good) and DRUGS (BAD).

 

 

 

People in SA going to jail for selling ?sports? drugs??? I don?t see it happening (obviously if it?s a schedule 2697363 or whatever drug needing a special licence which he/she doesn?t have then there could be a problem,, but I don?t think any of the discussions on this forum covered this sort of thing).

 

 

 

So let me quickly take my EPO, use disprin to thin the blood, 10 regmakers to give me the caffine, some stroids to give me the muscle, stop for a leak to get rid of the coffee, go slowly up the hill cause my muscle is now too heavy????

 

 

 

Not saying anyone is right, or anyone is wrong, you define your line of what is right and wrong.

 

 

 

AAAAARRRGHHHHH, just choked on my vitamins, must be bad for my health.

 

[Marius]

this should be interesting

[slowpoke]

francois, it's actually an offence for anything beyond schedule 4 (i think) to be sold without a script so stuff like EPO and 'roids definately cannot legally be sold over the counter or by private individuals. further to that, latest i heard is that you can't even give someone a headache tablet unless you are "qualified" to do so (ie nursing practitioner or doctor).

 

personally i believe any drug taken to improve performance as opposed to being taken to cure/remedy an ilness/ailment, which can cause furture medical problems is not acceptable in any way. further to this any encouragement to do this is also morally wrong and reprehensible.

 

[Brakkies Sport Fotos]

Francois, good question.

 

Now let me tell you what happened in ou DC team last year. You now, our social riders don't put in the miles to really have a nice 216km ride / race (whatever).  Most guys train 90 - 120k's (and that ok), but than challenge themselves over the 20km.

 

I always have myprodol, gu, crampstop and neurofen in my bicycle tool bag.

 

When we went through that "massive"  pass called tradouw's pass (not the one on route 62, but that one were you could talk to the baboons up in the sky, when 2 guys start taking strain.

 

I pull out my medical supply, split it up and gave it o them...I worked like a bom,..At our next stop we gave them ech a redbull and one in the pocket.

 

They did "up the tradoux", with a little bit of help, but rode with us through to the end, and we did it (all 12 together) in 7.30.

 

Was it the "drugs" or mind?  I dunno

[Francois]

Ok Slowpoke - I take a vitamin supplement, not for general health but to make sure that I don't get sick and to ensure all my vitamin and mineral levels are at an optimum, is this acceptable. My thoughs are that, seeing a person puts in so much time and effort into their training, can they afford to take the chance that their vitamin or mineral levels might be low.

[scotty]

I recall Elana Meyer was suspnded for high caffeine levels. At the time it was illegal but no longer, In her case the suspension still stood as it was before it was scrapped. So good question, when is it legal or not.

[dirtrider]

SP I agree with Franscois in that anything you take that makes you perform better should then be considered a "drug" and banned !! Myself feel that I perform a lot better if I eat apples and then also drink Apple juice during the race ! My doctor warned me that to much of anything is not good for you and that is why I changed to eating apples and drinking beer . My performance has come down dramaticaly !

[Brakkies Sport Fotos]

must be the apples.

[slowpoke]

popeye, i think you're right - the apples need to be fermented first!

[nellie]

DR - I always thought that an apple a day keeps the doctor away??? Or is it only down here?

 

Maybe eating apples in Gauteng attracts doctors and puts them on your case? I dunno...just wondering...

[Gumpole]

I would say that any supplement that could be found in natural foods, even if is isolated or condensed in a supplement is ok. ie all protein, all carbs, all vitamins, creatine - Your body then uses these substances to 'build itself'

Any thing that is not a 'building block' as such, but a substance that changes the way your body basic functioning should be banned. eg hormones, steroids, epo.

 

stimulants like caffeine (or cocaine) sit somewhere between the two camps!

[domenic]

I would say that any supplement that could be found in natural foods' date=' even if is isolated or condensed in a supplement is ok. ie all protein, all carbs, all vitamins, creatine - Your body then uses these substances to 'build itself'

Any thing that is not a 'building block' as such, but a substance that changes the way your body basic functioning should be banned. eg hormones, steroids, epo.

 

stimulants like caffeine (or cocaine) sit somewhere between the two camps!

[/quote']

EPO, creatine, growth hormones, all occur naturally in the body.

[Gumpole]

EPO, creatine, growth hormones, all occur naturally in the body.

Yes, but they dont occur naturally in foods (except creatine which I dont have a problem with).

Adding EPO, GH etc changes the way your body functions.

 

hmm I'm starting to sound very unconvincing!

[bruce]

Go to the WADA website - www.wada-ama.org

At the start of the document that contains the banned substances list:

"The use of any drug should be limited to medically justified indications"

 

In principle drugs should only be used for their medically intended purposes.

 

I just sent a note through to USN regarding their products.  Their doctor gave me a list of products that contain substances that appear on the banned list.

 

Cytopower contains synephrine (similar to ephidrine) so it should not be used by licensed cyclists - Cytopower Stimulant Free should be used.

[nochain]

Bruce ,what other usn products appear on that list or is it only the cytopower?

[bruce]

Hi Bruce

The supplements that you should take note of would be:

Phedra-Cut Advanced - contains synephrine and octopamine HCl both of which appear on the banned substances list.

17-Testo X, Tribulus-7 and Mega Anabolic Stack all contain tribulus terrestris which is not banned but can elevate testosterone levels above normal limits in some individuals.

CytoPower contains synephrine.

Use the new Phedra-Cut XT or Phedra-Cut Stimulant Free with CLA if you are looking for a fat burner.

ZMA is a safe option as a natural anabolic agent.

Use the CytoPower Stimulant Free as an Energy Drink during events or training.

Regards

Dr Trevor Baillie