Whitman College Athletics

Below is additional information about the NCAA Drug-Testing Program  and pertinent educational resources:

Changes to Legislation and Testing Protocols for Cannabinoids.
Following recent legislative changes in all divisions removing the cannabinoid drug class from the NCAA list of banned substances, THC will no longer be tested for during any NCAA drug-testing event. Schools may elect to conduct their own drug-testing events and continue to test for THC.

Medical Exception update – Spironolactone.
CSMAS approved a change to the medical exception process for spironolactone, a drug most commonly prescribed for hormonal acne treatment. Schools are now required to submit a medical exception for the use of spironolactone only following a positive NCAA drug test. It is no longer necessary to submit as part of the medical exception pre-approval process. CSMAS noted that the typical dosage reported for spironolactone is unlikely to be useful as a masking agent or a performance enhancing drug. Additional information on this topic can be found in the Banned Substances and Medical Exception Process FAQ.

Drug-Testing Education Resources.
NCAA member schools are required to educate student-athletes about NCAA banned drugs and the products that may contain them at least once annually. CSMAS has approved drug-testing educational templates for member schools to consider using when educating student-athletes on the NCAA Drug-Testing Program and nutritional and dietary supplements.

Additionally, NCAA member schools, student-athletes and athletics staff also have free access to Drug Free Sport AXIS (access code ncaa1, ncaa2, or ncaa3) to learn more about specific medications and supplements and their associated risk levels related to NCAA banned substances.

Emerging Concerns.
Student-athletes continue to test positive for NCAA banned substances potentially due to the use of contaminated supplements. High numbers of positive tests for substances found in the hormone and metabolic modulators and anabolic agents banned drug classes continue. In 2023-24 the substances most commonly found during NCAA drug testing in these drug classes were GW1516 sulfoxide, clomiphene, testosterone and ostarine. An observed decrease in GW1516 positives may be linked to the new threshold of 0.1ng/ml established by CSMAS and effective for all tests after September 1, 2023. Drug-testing results also indicated testosterone positives were higher than in previous years.
 

Thank you for your partnership in addressing substance misuse prevention on your campus. For additional information on the NCAA Drug Testing Program or resources on substance misuse, please refer to the resource box at the top of this page or email ssi@ncaa.org.