Skip to main content

Race for NHL's Stanley Cup Sidesteps All Drug Testing

The National Hockey League (NHL) prohibits substance abuse testing during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The lack of testing could open a window for the possible use of illegal performance enhancing drugs by players. The NHL also does not allow players to be tested during the off season. Taking into consideration that the drug-testing policies of Major League Baseball (MLB), The National Football League (NFL) and the Olympics use year round random testing - The NHL policy could be viewed as extremely weak.

The reasoning behind the NHL's collectively bargained agreement to prohibit testing in the playoffs and off-season is that random drug testing is seen as a potential distraction by the players and their union. An exception to the rule includes players who are competing in international play during the off-season; they are subject to random drug testing. The NHL's Deputy Commissioner, Bill Daly, said "The league would be supportive of enhancing the scope of the policy."

A recent article in the The Columbus Dispatch on NHL substance abuse testing includes several interviews with NHL stars and the opinions seem to be split on the issue of testing. Pittsburgh Penguin Sidney Crosby believes that the playoffs are full of distractions and "urinating in a cup would add to the list." Crosby stated "If anything, I think it would be a headache for a player after a playoff game maybe having to wait around seeing if they could go to the bathroom."

NHL veteran, Chris Chelios of the Detroit Redwings seems to favor year-round urine testing and would take it a step further to include blood tests as well. Chelios stated "It's obvious this is a problem, maybe not necessarily in hockey, but in other sports, and we should have zero tolerance for it," Chelios exclaimed, "If you are caught, you should be banned forever."

Are performance enhancing drugs adding to the excitement and drama of the playoffs? You be the judge.

Popular posts from this blog

New Oxycodone Formula Gets Backing of FDA

The FDA recently voted in favor of pushing a new formulation of oxycodone hydrochloride for approval. The new OxyContin formula is more difficult to crush or dissolve which will hopefully make it harder to be used as a drug of abuse . The FDA recommended that Purdue Pharma's application for a new, resin-coated formulation should replace the original version, which has been on the market since 1996. Randall Flick, MD, an anesthesiologist at the Mayo Clinic who voted to recommend approval of the drug said, "Clearly the old formulation is worse than the new, although I think the difference is relatively small," Flick concluded, "Hardcore abusers are likely to devise new ways to break down the harder tablet or figure out which solvents will dissolve it fastest, within 'day or weeks' of the product's release on the market."

Utah Debates Drug Testing for Public Assistance

Utah has begun to follow the path that so many other states have traveled earlier this year. The path leads to drug testing for public assistance. Utah Senator Dennis Stowell had asked that the issue be studied carefully and Rep. Christopher Herrod said "If someone's on drugs, we shouldn't be giving them money," he said. "There's nowhere in the Constitution that says, 'You have a right to get welfare." At the center of the debate is cost and legality. An analyst for Community Action Partnership of Utah stated that "The cost to test all Utah’s families that receive 'Temporary Assistance for Needy Families' would be high." The analyst added, "That testing all welfare recipients just once would cost about $255,000 and a lawsuit against the state would likely cost more than $1 million." Further discussion and analysis is planned in the upcoming months to decide whether to study the issue further, table the issue or wait un...

CHEATERS DON'T WIN! NC Man's Tricks Backfire During Drug Test

Jeffrey Selph has found himself in the jailhouse for trying to cheat and beat his drug test. Selph was caught by his probation officer with a "yellow like tube with urine" in his possession right before his test. Selph was booked on a charge of defraud drug/alcohol screening tests under a $3,000 bond. Other Drug Test Cheating Stories on MMC's Drug Free Blog... U.S. Airways Express Pilot Doubled As Drug Testing Cheat Entrepreneur Pittsburgh Court Sentences Maker of "Whizzinator" Drug Testing Cheat Device If You Are Going to Cheat On Your Drug Test... Be Prepared to Face The Consequences! Lawrence Taylor's Drug Riddled Past Re-Examined by New Charges Synthetic Human Urine Employed To Pass Drug Tests Illinois Man Caught Cheating on Urine Drug Test Mobile Medical Corporation ( MMC ), a Pittsburgh Drug Testing firm continually monitors the news outlets for incidents of drug test cheating in order to provide further information on the topic. Mobile Medical Corp...