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UK: Does he think we're dopes?
Clare Balding The Observer
Sunday 22 May 2005 The idea of a 100 metres final in which all the competitors have just passed round a joint is relatively entertaining. Out of the window goes aggressive eye-balling and posturing. In comes love, harmony and that classic 'don't give a shit' mentality. 'Hey man, don't worry about a thing.' Bob Marley wrote some of his best music under the influence of ganja, but in some walks of life, it just ain't appropriate. Mark Lewis-Francis has maintained that he 'may have been in the presence of people who were smoking cannabis' for the drug to have found its way into his system. A plausible explanation, I'm sure.... if he had been locked in an airtight room with a herd of elephants smoking a metre-long spliff. In which case, you might have thought he would have noticed. UK Athletics have accepted that the drug was not performance-enhancing and, because it was a first offence for Lewis-Francis, have issued him with a public warning rather than a ban. However, the World Anti-Doping Association (Wada) has it on their list of prohibited substances and it is under their rules that Lewis-Francis loses the silver medal he won at the European indoor championships in March. It is difficult here to separate our social judgment from our view of Lewis-Francis as a professional athlete who is required to abide by the rules of his chosen vocation. Cannabis use is prevalent in our society and it is not widely regarded as a serious offence. In terms of the law, cannabis was downgraded this year from category B to category C. It remains an illegal substance, but it is unlikely that the police will arrest an individual for possession. Growing cannabis, supplying it or dealing in it carries a jail term of up to 14 years. Cannabis was used as a herbal medicine by the Chinese in the first century AD. It makes the individual relax and has been proven to relieve pain and stress. Heavy use can lead to lethargy, apathy and lack of concentration. Not ideal for a professional athlete who is meant to care whether or not he wins. Interestingly, other side-effects include an increased pulse rate, decreased blood pressure and an unusually strong craving for food. There are many who argue that cannabis is not a dangerous drug, that it is no more harmful than tobacco or alcohol and that it has hugely beneficial qualities for those suffering from arthritis, multiple sclerosis and other painful, chronic diseases. The important fact in Lewis-Francis's case is that cannabis is on the Wada prohibited list. Three years ago, Wada produced new rules that attempted to differentiate between drug cheats and casual users of recreational drugs. The new code was established after the Alain Baxter case (banned and lost his 2002 Olympic skiing bronze medal after using an inhaler) and that of the Romanian gymnast Andrea Raducan, who lost her gold medal in Sydney after taking a cold medication that contained a stimulant. The new rules are open to interpretation and it is up to each sport to impose its own punishment. Consequently, Lewis-Francis escapes without a ban while Rio Ferdinand served an eight-month suspension from football for missing a test (and therefore being treated as if he had tested positive) and Adrian Mutu and Mark Bosnich have been banned for between seven and nine months after positive tests for recreational drugs. The attitude of the cricket authorities will be revealed this week when the Warwickshire wicketkeeper Keith Piper receives the judgment of the ECB after testing positive for cannabis. Lewis-Francis may regret the loss of his silver medal, but in real terms he has got off lightly. Whether or not he ingested cannabis, he has to accept responsibility for anything found in his body. Under the rule of strict liability, his defence is irrelevant. He is also an Olympic gold medallist who benefits financially from the high profile that victory has given him and must therefore abide by the rules that govern his sport. Seb Coe is among those who will not accept any shades of grey on the page that deals with drug abuse. He has dropped Lewis-Francis as an ambassador for the London 2012 bid and will not accept the increasingly fanciful explanations that have been offered. 'When we get "the dog ate my homework" stories, we really have got to come down hard,' said Coe. 'We have a problem. We spend an inordinate amount of money every year on that problem and we have to have zero tolerance.' This is where the world of sport has to be distinctly separated from the real world. The latter is a place in which liberal thinking can sometimes be applied for pragmatic reasons, whereas the former is a strictly professional arena in which those who have the talent to compete can gain rich rewards. Their physical ability earns them that right and, in return, they have to take responsibility for anything that may affect their body. It's a tough life, but those are the rules. If you don't like them, don't play
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