The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- December 6, 1999

Latest drug-testing results indicate concern for ephedrine use

The NCAA's most recent drug-testing data, from August-December 1998, indicate a slightly higher positive test rate than during the same period in 1997.

The percent positive rate is for the 1998 period was 1.1 percent compared to 0.9 percent for the August-December period in 1997. The 1998 six-month percentage, however, compares with the positive rates for most sports drug-testing programs, which usually are between 1 and 2 percent.

Of the 5,368 student-athletes tested during the August-December 1998 period, 40 were ruled ineligible as the result of a positive drug test.

Two student-athletes tested positive for the banned stimulant ephedrine. Ephedrine (also known as ephedra or ma huang) often is found in supplement products, including sports "energy" bars or products to increase metabolism or to lose weight.

"Student-athletes need to be warned that ephedrine is marketed to athletes as a 'natural' product to raise energy levels," said Frank D. Uryasz, director of the National Center for Drug-Free Sport, which administers the NCAA's drug-testing program. "In this case, 'natural' does not mean 'safe,' and it does not mean that it is approved to take."

Ephedrine can be found in products ranging from herbal teas to diet aides.

Uryasz said there were seven unsuccessful appeals as a result of positive tests involving the metabolites of nandrolone.

"It is probable that these positives are the result of the use of supplement products including those containing norandrostenedione," Uryasz said. "Nevertheless, norandrostenedione is an anabolic agent banned by the NCAA, and these appeals have not been successful."

Five athletes lost their eligibility as a result of testing positive for marijuana. The NCAA bans marijuana and tests for it before postseason football bowls and at NCAA championships. The postseason percent positive was up in 1998 (1.8 percent) compared to the same period in 1997 (0.4 percent) due primarily to the ephedrine and marijuana positives.

The NCAA is the only athletics organization that conducts drug testing and reports its drug-testing data in aggregate form while protecting the confidentiality of the individual. These data are provided to member schools to assist in the development of educational/preventive programs to deter the use of drugs banned by the NCAA. They do not necessarily reflect collegiate student-athletes' substance-use patterns.