Paine College and the Athletics Department recognize the stressful nature of being a student-athlete and are concerned with the health and safety of all athletes competing and representing this institution. The use of controlled substances (narcotics, marijuana, stimulants, etc.), and the abuse of alcohol by student-athletes, will adversely affect their academic performance, athletic achievements and personal well-being. Student-athletes who abuse controlled substances put themselves, their teammates, and the program at risk.
The Athletics Department is committed to enriching the lives of all athletes that come to Paine and believes that participation in athletics is a privilege, not a right. Therefore, substance abuse, use of any substance banned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), underage drinking or the inappropriate use of alcohol will not be tolerated at Paine College.
The Department of Athletics at Paine College believes that providing a drug-screening policy and a substance abuse prevention education program is essential in the protection of the student-athletes from the harmful effects of drug and alcohol abuse.

Alcohol

In accordance with the Institutional Policies, illegal use of alcoholic beverages, possessing, purchasing, selling, or making available alcoholic beverages on College-owned or controlled property are strictly prohibited. Disciplinary actions for the first offense will result in a one semester suspension and required participation in a Counseling Development Course. A second offense will result in a two semester suspension.

Banned Substances

Tests will be conducted for THC/marijuana, cocaine, opiates, PCP, amphetamines, and barbiturates. In addition, the Athletic Department reserves the right to test for any other drugs banned by the NCAA (see attached NCAA banned substance list). The student-athlete should consult the NCAA banned substance list when purchasing over the counter medications or when receiving a prescription from his or her private physician.

Dietary Supplements

Many dietary supplements and over-the-counter (OTC) medications may contain ingredients banned by the NCAA and would be detected by the drug screening procedures. Although the substance was ingested with a legal supplement or medication, the student-athlete will be in violation of the drug policy and will be required to obey the disciplinary actions set forth by the Athletics Department. In order to avoid these situations, athletes are advised to refrain from using dietary supplements without the consent and direction of a physician. If seeing a physician other than a Paine team physician, the student-athlete needs to make sure the physician is aware they are an athlete subject to drug screening if a prescription for medication is used in your treatment. The NCAA has contracted the Resource Exchange Center, or REC to provide student-athletes and coaches with accurate information regarding dietary supplements and OTC medications. The REC can be contacted toll free by phone at 877-202-0769 or on-line at www.drugfreesport.com/rec

Drug Testing

Drug testing will be conducted on a random and selective basis, and may be unannounced. Student-athletes may be subjected to testing during the pre-participation physical examination screening, or at any time throughout the academic year. Refusal to participate in a drug screening or neglecting to report for a scheduled screening within the allotted time will be reported as a positive test result with the appropriate disciplinary actions enforced.

Reasonable Suspicion Screening

Any student-athlete may be subject to testing at any time when, in the judgment of the Athletic Director, there is reasonable cause to suspect that the student is engaged in the use of any of the drugs prohibited by this policy. Reasonable suspicion may be based on information from any source deemed reliable by the Athletic Director. The content of the information may include, but is not limited to: (1) observed possession or use of substances that reasonably appear to be drugs of the type prohibited, (2) arrest or conviction for a criminal offense related to the possession, use, or trafficking of drugs of the type prohibited, and/or (3) observed abnormal appearance, conduct or behavior, including absence from academic duties, training or competition; reasonably interpretable as being caused by the use of drugs of the type prohibited.
The Athletic Director shall confer with Paine College legal and medical representatives in determining whether there is reasonable cause to suspect that the student-athlete is engaged in prohibited drug use. Individualized reasonable suspicion means that if the available facts were conveyed to a reasonable person unfamiliar with the student-athlete or the athletic program, that person would conclude that there is a factual basis for determining that the student-athlete is using a prohibited drug.
If reasonable suspicion is found to exist, the Athletic Director will meet with the student-athlete. At the meeting the student-athlete will have the opportunity to provide an explanation for his/her behavior. However, if the explanation is not satisfactory to the Athletic Director, the Athletic Director will provide written notice specifying the date, time, and place at which the test will be conducted. The consequences for failure to cooperate and participate in the drug screening or a positive test for a banned substance will result in disciplinary actions similar to randomized testing procedures.

Screening & Testing Procedures

The following screening procedures will be coordinated through the Paine College Sports Medicine Department to ensure a safe and secure specimen collection.
Random selection and testing will be conducted by an independent testing center contracted by Paine College Athletics Department.
The independent testing center will use Paine student ID numbers to randomly select the student-athletes to be tested and will send the list to the Athletic Trainer.
The Athletic Trainer will contact the head coaches with the names of their athletes to be tested. The coaches will then notify the student-athletes that they have been selected and their assigned time to report to the testing center. Failure for any reason to report to the testing center or within the allotted time frame will automatically be considered a positive test with disciplinary actions enforced.
Student-athletes will be required to present a picture I.D. at the time of the screening. If they do not show a valid picture I.D. at the time of testing, it will be considered a refusal to take the test and therefore be considered a positive test with disciplinary actions enforced.

Urine specimens will be taken under indirect observation in order to prevent specimen tampering and/or substitution. Any alterations or attempt to manipulate the urine specimen will constitute a positive test.

The specimen will be divided at the lab with a portion reserved for re-testing if the initial testing of the specimen is either positive or suspect, or if the student-athlete sees the need to appeal the findings.

At the time of drug screening, the student-athlete will have an opportunity to disclose the names and/or types of any medically prescribed or over-the counter substances they might have been taking that may affect the results of the screening. They must present a valid prescription/letter from their physician dated prior to the testing date.

The student-athletes must remain at the collection site until excused by the lab personnel. Failure to do so will result in a refusal to finish the test and will be considered a positive test with disciplinary actions enforced.

Disciplinary Actions for Positive Tests

If the independent testing center finds any samples have tested positive for banned substances, they will notify the Athletic Trainer with the name(s) as well as the substance category that was violated. The Athletic Trainer will in turn notify the Athletic Director with this information and the following disciplinary actions will be determined.

First Offense:

The student-athlete that has tested positive will be notified in a meeting with the Athletic Director and the head coach. The parents of the student-athlete will also be notified. The student-athlete will be considered medically ineligible and not permitted to participate in practices or competition for a determined number of days set forth by the Athletic Director. This period of ineligibility begins on the day of notification and will last a minimum period of 14 days. The Athletic Director may also consider to discontinue scholarship assistance, extend the period of ineligibility up to a period of one year, to require participation in an approved treatment or counseling program, undergo mandatory health assessments, or any combination thereof. In addition, once a student-athlete tests positive for a banned substance, random selection will no longer apply, and the student-athlete can expect to be selected for participation in drug screening more frequently than other student-athletes. Before the student-athlete can regain eligibility the student-athlete must be retested with negative findings.

Second Offense:

A student-athlete that tests positive for a second time during their time at Paine College will be considered medically ineligible to participate for one full calendar year. Parents of the student-athlete will be notified. Scholarship assistance will end with the current semester of the positive test and will not be reinstated for one calendar year from the time of discontinuance. In order for the student-athlete to return to good standing and regain eligibility, they must pass a recent drug screening and provide proof of satisfactory participation in a pre-approved substance abuse counseling or treatment program. The treatment program must be approved by the Director of the Counseling at Paine College. Any student-athlete that tests positive for the second time can expect to be selected for drug screenings more frequently than other student-athletes.

Third Offense:

Any student-athlete that tests positive for a third time during their enrollment at Paine College, they will immediately and permanently be expelled from athletics at Paine College. They will also lose all athletic related financial assistance.

Self Help/Safe Harbor

As a one-time opportunity, a student-athlete that has not tested positive prior to this occurrence, yet has knowingly ingested a banned substance may seek confidential help from their coach or the sports medicine staff prior to notification of a pending drug screening. At that time the student-athlete must undergo a test to determine which substances are in the system and in what amounts. The athlete will immediately be deemed medically ineligible to participate for a period of up to 30 days to allow the substance to evacuate the system. The medical staff will determine when a second drug test is to be performed as well as the need for a health assessment. While this occurrence will be considered as the student-athlete's first positive test, no other sanctions will be applied.

Appeals Process

If a student-athlete feels that the results of the test are in error, they may request that the split part of the sample be retested at the same laboratory that performed the original test at their expense. If the student-athlete feels that sanctions are unduly harsh or unfair due to unusual circumstances, they may appeal in writing, to the Vice President for Student Affairs within two weeks of the official notification of sanctions by the Director of Athletics. The Vice President for Student Affairs will render a final decision in writing. The student-athlete will remain ineligible during the appeal process.
 

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It is the student-athlete's responsibility to check with the appropriate or designated athletics staff before using any substance

The NCAA bans the following classes of drugs:

a. Stimulants
b. Anabolic Agents
c. Alcohol and Beta Blockers (banned for rifle only)
d. Diuretics and Other Masking Agents
e. Street Drugs
f. Peptide Hormones and Analogues
g. Anti-estrogens
h. Beta-2 Agonists

Note: Any substance chemically related to these classes is also banned.
The institution and the student-athlete shall be held accountable for all drugs within the banned drug class regardless of whether they have been specifically identified.

Drugs and Procedures Subject to Restrictions:

a. Blood Doping.
b. Local Anesthetics (under some conditions).
c. Manipulation of Urine Samples.
d. Beta-2 Agonists permitted only by prescription and inhalation.
e. Caffeine if concentrations in urine exceed 15 micrograms/ml.

NCAA Nutritional/Dietary Supplements Warning:

Before consuming any nutritional/dietary supplement product, review the product with the appropriate or designated athletics department staff!

• Dietary supplements are not well regulated and may cause a positive drug test result.
• Student-athletes have tested positive and lost their eligibility using dietary supplements.
• Many dietary supplements are contaminated with banned drugs not listed on the label.
• Any product containing a dietary supplement ingredient is taken at your own risk.

 
Some Examples of NCAA Banned Substances in Each Drug Class

Stimulants: amphetamine (Adderall); caffeine (guarana); cocaine; ephedrine; fenfluramine (Fen); methamphetamine; methylphenidate (Ritalin); phentermine (Phen); synephrine (bitter orange); methylhexaneamine, “bath salts” (mephedrone) etc. Exceptions: phenylephrine and pseudoephedrine are not banned.

Anabolic Agents (sometimes listed as a chemical formula, such as 3,6,17-androstenetrione): boldenone; clenbuterol; DHEA (7-Keto); nandrolone; stanozolol; testosterone; methasterone; androstenedione; norandrostenedione; methandienone; etiocholanolone; trenbolone; etc.

Alcohol and Beta Blockers (banned for rifle only): alcohol; atenolol; metoprolol; nadolol; pindolol; propranolol; timolol; etc.

Diuretics (water pills) and Other Masking Agents: bumetanide; chlorothiazide; furosemide; hydrochlorothiazide; probenecid; spironolactone (canrenone); triameterene; trichlormethiazide; etc.

Street Drugs: heroin; marijuana; tetrahydrocannabinol (THC); synthetic cannabinoids (eg. spice, K2, JWH-018, JWH-073)

Peptide Hormones and Analogues: growth hormone(hGH); human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG); erythropoietin (EPO); etc.

Anti-Estrogens: anastrozole; tamoxifen; formestane; 3,17-dioxo-etiochol-1,4,6-triene(ATD), etc.

Beta-2 Agonists: bambuterol; formoterol; salbutamol; salmeterol; etc.

Any substance that is chemically related to the class, even if it is not listed as an example, is also banned!