National College Athletic Association

National Football League (NFL) joins the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in issuing a ban on ephedrine use. The NFL ban on ephedrine prohibits NFL players and teams from endorsing products containing ephedrine or companies that sell or distribute those products. 

Even if serious health consequences do not follow ephedra use, users may experience other personal consequences. College athletes may incur a doping suspension if they test positive for ephedra, because the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) bans ephedrine. 

A 2001 National Collegiate Athletic Association report entitled NCAA Study of Substance Use Habits of College Student-Athletes revealed that among the 29.8% of NCAA athletes who admitted using dietary supplements in the past 12 months, creatine was taken by 25.8% (second only to protein supplements). Fifty-seven percent of these athletes first used nutritional supplements in high school. 

Sample analysis for banned substances in athletes is similar to forensic analysis for controlled substances. Urine is the piimaiy matrix, but blood may also be collected. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) stipulates how urine is to be collected and maintains a list of banned substances for college athletes. Not all of these substances are illegal. 

For starters, colleges can get out of the business of being a cost-free minor league for the National Basketball Association and National Football League. The elimination of athletic scholarships would mean that football and basketball players would be ill prepared for pro sports. But why should that concern colleges ... 

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