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If Ricky Williams is right, the NFL's entire system for testing players for marijuana is a joke and a scandal in the making.
If experts consulted by such diverse groups as the NFL and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws are right, the joke is on anyone who believes there is a magic potion to beat a marijuana test.
Williams, who shocked the Dolphins by announcing his retirement last weekend at age 27, claimed he failed marijuana tests only because he forgot to drink a liquid used by many players to beat the system.
There is no such wonder liquid known to science, according to Lawrence Brown, a drug-abuse expert who serves as the NFL's medical adviser for substances of abuse.
"The bottom line is, players are not beating the test," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said. "The only way to beat a urine test is to drink large amounts of water, which in our system is considered a diluted specimen and is deemed a positive test."
Veteran drug testers at the college level agree.
"I'm convinced he's giving those products too much credit or he's only telling half the story," said Paul Doering, a pharmacy professor and a member of the University of Florida's drug-testing committee. "I know of no tea or drink or anything you can take into your body that will block a marijuana test."
The closest thing to a magic potion is hardly mystical at all, experts say, but the most common of liquids – water. Water will help flush from the body substances that signal marijuana use. Yet a specimen too watery and clear itself sets off NFL alarm bells, and is presumed positive.
"The doctors are saying there is no masking agent for marijuana," Aiello said. "There is no such substance."
Advertisements on the Internet and in magazines claim to offer concoctions that will allow users to beat a urine test.
"There are substances that are sold with the claim that this will beat a drug test," Aiello said. "They don't work. It's a marketing ploy."
But wouldn't the NFL naturally deny such a thing existed if the league simply couldn't detect it? U.S. anti-doping authorities might never have known about the steroid THG if an anonymous coach had not sent them a syringe, for example. And if the NFL did suspect its tests could be beaten, wouldn't the league want to suppress this information so as not to give other players ideas?
NORML, a group that wants to legalize marijuana, referred questions to Dr. Steven Karch, a San Francisco-based expert on pharmacology and toxicology. He said he knows of no credible masking agent for marijuana.
"There's a street belief that goldenseal tea will mask it, but there's no truth to it," Karch said of the tea made from the perennial plant.
UF's Doering said he still has test results from a subject who acknowledged smoking pot and trying to hide it with goldenseal – three straight positives.
"The instructions for many of these products say take three tablets and drink a gallon of water," Doering said. "You might as well throw away the tablets and drink the water."
Some athletes may believe such products work because they overestimate how long marijuana stays in the system. Marijuana can remain in the system for 20 to 28 days for daily users, or disappear in a week for occasional smokers, Doering said. Natural flushing or simply the passage of time may have done the job.
"They go out and buy one of these teas, and they say 'Ha, I beat the test,' " Doering said. "There's no pharmacological explanation as to why it would work."
Nor is there evidence that vinegar, niacin or vitamin C help, according to other experts.
It is true that flushing out the system with water or diuretics, substances that increase urine flow, can help a person under certain conditions, Karch said. A person whose level of marijuana in the body is marginally above the testing threshold may slip with intense flushing, provided at least a couple of days have passed since marijuana use, he said.
"You can't just smoke a joint and drink a gallon of water," Karch said. "It won't work."
Too much flushing will be caught by testers, the NFL claims. In addition, prescription diuretics such as Lasix are often banned or red-flagged themselves, Aiello said.
Williams reportedly tested slightly above the NFL threshold in his second positive test since joining the Dolphins in 2002, resulting in a $650,000 fine. Those tests were not the only factor in his decision to retire, but did play some role, published reports have suggested.
Former Pro Bowl center Mark Stepnoski, now an adviser to NORML, said he avoided positive tests during his playing career by simply abstaining for several weeks before known testing periods before the season. Players with clean tests are not tested again for a year.
Players who have tested positive are subject to up 10 tests per month. If he has two positive tests, Williams is in this category. Choosing how often to test him within those guidelines is up to the league, and the doctors who run its testing program.
If Williams decides to come back, would he be subject to special scrutiny by the league?
"The doctors could rachet up the tests if they came up with information that made that appropriate," Aiello said.
Palm Beach Post
Charles Elmore
Monday, July 26, 2004
© 2004, The Palm Beach Post. All rights reserved.
https://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/content/sports/epaper/2004/07/27/a1c_PBP_ELMORE_0627.html
If experts consulted by such diverse groups as the NFL and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws are right, the joke is on anyone who believes there is a magic potion to beat a marijuana test.
Williams, who shocked the Dolphins by announcing his retirement last weekend at age 27, claimed he failed marijuana tests only because he forgot to drink a liquid used by many players to beat the system.
There is no such wonder liquid known to science, according to Lawrence Brown, a drug-abuse expert who serves as the NFL's medical adviser for substances of abuse.
"The bottom line is, players are not beating the test," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said. "The only way to beat a urine test is to drink large amounts of water, which in our system is considered a diluted specimen and is deemed a positive test."
Veteran drug testers at the college level agree.
"I'm convinced he's giving those products too much credit or he's only telling half the story," said Paul Doering, a pharmacy professor and a member of the University of Florida's drug-testing committee. "I know of no tea or drink or anything you can take into your body that will block a marijuana test."
The closest thing to a magic potion is hardly mystical at all, experts say, but the most common of liquids – water. Water will help flush from the body substances that signal marijuana use. Yet a specimen too watery and clear itself sets off NFL alarm bells, and is presumed positive.
"The doctors are saying there is no masking agent for marijuana," Aiello said. "There is no such substance."
Advertisements on the Internet and in magazines claim to offer concoctions that will allow users to beat a urine test.
"There are substances that are sold with the claim that this will beat a drug test," Aiello said. "They don't work. It's a marketing ploy."
But wouldn't the NFL naturally deny such a thing existed if the league simply couldn't detect it? U.S. anti-doping authorities might never have known about the steroid THG if an anonymous coach had not sent them a syringe, for example. And if the NFL did suspect its tests could be beaten, wouldn't the league want to suppress this information so as not to give other players ideas?
NORML, a group that wants to legalize marijuana, referred questions to Dr. Steven Karch, a San Francisco-based expert on pharmacology and toxicology. He said he knows of no credible masking agent for marijuana.
"There's a street belief that goldenseal tea will mask it, but there's no truth to it," Karch said of the tea made from the perennial plant.
UF's Doering said he still has test results from a subject who acknowledged smoking pot and trying to hide it with goldenseal – three straight positives.
"The instructions for many of these products say take three tablets and drink a gallon of water," Doering said. "You might as well throw away the tablets and drink the water."
Some athletes may believe such products work because they overestimate how long marijuana stays in the system. Marijuana can remain in the system for 20 to 28 days for daily users, or disappear in a week for occasional smokers, Doering said. Natural flushing or simply the passage of time may have done the job.
"They go out and buy one of these teas, and they say 'Ha, I beat the test,' " Doering said. "There's no pharmacological explanation as to why it would work."
Nor is there evidence that vinegar, niacin or vitamin C help, according to other experts.
It is true that flushing out the system with water or diuretics, substances that increase urine flow, can help a person under certain conditions, Karch said. A person whose level of marijuana in the body is marginally above the testing threshold may slip with intense flushing, provided at least a couple of days have passed since marijuana use, he said.
"You can't just smoke a joint and drink a gallon of water," Karch said. "It won't work."
Too much flushing will be caught by testers, the NFL claims. In addition, prescription diuretics such as Lasix are often banned or red-flagged themselves, Aiello said.
Williams reportedly tested slightly above the NFL threshold in his second positive test since joining the Dolphins in 2002, resulting in a $650,000 fine. Those tests were not the only factor in his decision to retire, but did play some role, published reports have suggested.
Former Pro Bowl center Mark Stepnoski, now an adviser to NORML, said he avoided positive tests during his playing career by simply abstaining for several weeks before known testing periods before the season. Players with clean tests are not tested again for a year.
Players who have tested positive are subject to up 10 tests per month. If he has two positive tests, Williams is in this category. Choosing how often to test him within those guidelines is up to the league, and the doctors who run its testing program.
If Williams decides to come back, would he be subject to special scrutiny by the league?
"The doctors could rachet up the tests if they came up with information that made that appropriate," Aiello said.
Palm Beach Post
Charles Elmore
Monday, July 26, 2004
© 2004, The Palm Beach Post. All rights reserved.
https://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/content/sports/epaper/2004/07/27/a1c_PBP_ELMORE_0627.html
