The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) does not support the plans of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to soften the punishment for cocaine use by athletes, RUSADA Deputy Director General Margarita Pakhnotskaya told Sputnik on Saturday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th November, 2019) The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) does not support the plans of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to soften the punishment for cocaine use by athletes, RUSADA Deputy Director General Margarita Pakhnotskaya told Sputnik on Saturday.WADA is planning to reduce the responsibility of athletes for the use of cocaine. WADA experts will soon compile a list of substances that are often abused outside sports, and cocaine should be on this list. If an athlete proves that he used a substance from this list in the non-competitive period without aiming to improve athletic performance, he or she will be disqualified for just three months. This period may be reduced to one month if the athlete agrees to undergo rehabilitation.
"RUSADA does not support the mitigation of punishment [for the use of cocaine]," Pakhnotskaya said.
The main objective of the global anti-doping policy is to protect clean athletes and maintain the health of an athlete, she noted.
