A look at the NCAA list of banned-drug classes may be an intimidating sight for student-athletes.

Some of the names of the stimulants, anabolic steroids, diuretics and recreational street drugs are difficult enough to pronounce correctly, let alone understand what effects they have in enhancing athletics performance or the health risks they impose.

While "androstenediol" and "synephrine" may not roll off the tongue, claiming ignorance about them and the products that contain them isn't a compelling strategy for having a one-year eligibility penalty overturned in an appeal hearing.

"Most definitely, the names can cause confusion," said Rachel Olander, the resource specialist for Resource Exchange Center (REC), a component of the National Center for Drug Free Sport, the company that administers NCAA drug-testing sample collection and processing. "The fact that herbals can be written in whatever type of term can lead to a mistake. They can be in their Chinese name or a Latin name or whatever. That makes it very difficult."

The NCAA's list of banned-drug classes (NCAA Bylaw 31.2.3.1) includes substances generally reported to be performance-enhancing and/or potentially harmful to the health and safety of the student-athlete. The NCAA does recognize that some banned substances are used for legitimate medical purposes; accordingly, the NCAA allows exceptions for those student-athletes with documented medical history demonstrating the need for regular use of such a drug.

"The NCAA bans a substance because it's found to be performance-enhancing or detrimental to one's health," Olander said. "With andro being an anabolic steroid, there is the possibility of many adverse health consequences. With ephedra, now banned (by the FDA), we can certainly talk about the use of stimulants and exercise (being detrimental to a student-athlete's overall health)."

Olander said if there is one message student-athletes should understand about the NCAA drug-testing policy, it's that they should educate themselves to the fullest. Institutions are responsible for providing lists and answering questions about NCAA-banned substances, but once that is made available, it's still the individual student-athlete's responsibility to take the necessary steps to have a clean result, no matter the complexity or vagueness of the label.

One resource student-athletes can use anonymously is the REC, which provides a 24-hour toll-free phone line (877/202-0769) and Web-based information (www.drugfreesport.
com/rec) about supplements, medications and banned substances. Passcodes for Internet questions are ncaa1 for Division I, ncaa2 for Division II and ncaa3 for Division III.

Olander responds to the inquiries, which can number between 20 to 30 calls on a busy day.

"I get questions about brand-name medications and dietary supplements," Olander said. "One of the things I try to let them know is that first, the NCAA has a list of banned-drug classes (www.ncaa.org/health-safety) with examples listed. Second, because of the poor regulation by the Food and Drug Administration of the dietary supplement industry, it still is risky to use a dietary supplement no matter what it is, and no matter what it lists on the label."

Mary Wilfert, NCAA assistant director of education outreach, said the best way for student-athletes to offset the risk of any banned substances entering their bodies is to avoid them altogether.

"Student-athletes have said in the past that they have ingested items in their system that they hadn't intended to," Wilfert said. "It's harder now to unintentionally get something through a supplement, because they've taken so much stuff out of the over-the-counter supplement products.

"It's still not impossible, though. Synephrine is a banned stimulant, but you can get energy drinks with synephrine in it. You used to be able to get energy drinks with ephedrine in them, but since the FDA banned the use of ephedrine in supplements, the supplement manufacturers have had to substitute with other stimulants, including synephrine."

Student-athletes may wonder, how are they supposed to know what supplement manufacturers are putting in products? All they see are advertisements promising a way to become better on the field.

Olander said that is why abstinence may be the best advice.

"Everything we are telling them is countered by a multi-billion dollar industry with some truly awesome advertising," Olander said. "We're not always telling student-athletes what they want to hear. The supplement manufacturers are telling them what they want to hear, though.

"I don't know whether student-athletes truly believe that the claims made by supplement manufacturers don't have to be backed by science, either. If they think there's a chance supplements will give them an edge, they are tempted to give them a shot."

While the latest NCAA Study of Substance Use Habits of College Student-Athletes shows an overall decrease in the self-reported use of recreational and performance-enhancing drug use (see story, page 1), Olander says a catch-me-if-you-can mentality still exists.

"Some of the questions I get are, 'How long will it stay in my system?'" she said, "or 'Can I use this substance up until what point?' I get those questions during the summer sometimes."

Since calls to the REC are anonymous, Olander receives wide-ranging inquiries, including questions about how long marijuana remains in the system.

"Some of them are more innocent and they say, 'I didn't realize it was banned,' " Olander said. "You can't give them an exact time, because there are so many variables involved, such as the amount taken and how quickly the body metabolizes the substance. You can talk in generalities, though. With stimulants, you're generally talking days. With steroids, you're talking longer."

Testing an effective deterrent

Last year was the first time the NCAA conducted random drug tests in all Division I and Division II sports.

More institutions also are administering drug tests. In the 2003 NCAA Drug-Education and Testing Survey, 89 percent of Division I-A institutions reported testing programs in place. The percentages were 67 in I-AA, 77 in I-AAA and 50 in Division II. Forty-seven percent of the Division I institutions and 34 percent in Division II test for anabolic agents. The majority of those programs suspend a student-athlete from participation on either the first or second positive result.

About 11,000 drug tests are administered through the NCAA drug-testing program, and around 78,000 institutional drug tests are conducted annually. The NCAA and its member institutions spend more than $8.3 million on drug testing annually.

Not every student-athlete can be tested, so there is no way to guarantee that college athletics will be completely drug free. But through education and random testing, more is being done to maintain a level playing field.

"Testing is a deterrent," Wilfert said. "It does a couple of things. For the student-athlete who thinks, 'If everybody is doing it, then I have to do it,' well, we make sure that not everyone is doing it. That takes pressure off that student-athlete. Then there are the student-athletes who are afraid of getting caught, and they figure why go through something like that? They all know there may be some cheaters among them, but we also think they believe it's better to compete without cheating."