New Zealand - Tribunal takes hard line on dope

From: www.stuff.co.nz
View source article here.

The Sports Disputes Tribunal of New Zealand, which determines penalties for positive drug tests for the majority of national sporting bodies, has informed national associations that it will take a tougher stance on sportspeople who test positive to cannabis for the first time.

In the past the tribunal has generally, for a first offence, given a warning and a reprimand to athletes.

Last Friday the tribunal sent a letter to national associations informing them that in future a first offence for a positive cannabis test was likely to attract a one-month suspension.

The release, signed by the chairman of SDTNZ, Barry Paterson, said the tribunal reserved the right to weight the suspension depending on circumstances, but a first offence would likely attract a suspension equivalent to one month of ordinary competition.

The release said the tribunal would try to ensure a consistent approach so that cases were treated in similar fashion.

Paterson, a retired High Court judge, could not be contacted yesterday. But it appears the tribunal has reviewed its sanctions for cannabis use since issuing a warning and reprimand to New Zealand basketball representative Mark Dickel after he tested positive for cannabis two weeks before the world championships in Japan in August.

Dickel was suspended for two games by Basketball New Zealand and subsequently reprimanded by the SDTNZ.

But Fiba, the international basketball federation, took a different view. After he arrived in Japan Dickel was suspended for a further three games by Fiba, which felt the initial punishment was insufficient.

Graeme Steel, the executive director of Drug Free Sport New Zealand, said penalties were up to the tribunal to determine within the requirements of Wada, the international sports drug body.

"They (the tribunal) seem to be saying now, `The message isn't getting through', and it's their prerogative where they want to pitch offences."

DFSNZ has previously said that it is against sanctions for cannabis use if it is not performance-enhancing.

"We'll continue to go through official channels to comment on the list of drugs and present our views," said Steel.

Meanwhile, the tribunal announced yesterday that a 15-year-old national boxing champion, Kerry Nathan, had been warned and reprimanded after testing positive to cannabis.

The tribunal noted that Nathan's offence occurred in August, before its review of penalties for the drug was announced last week. She was therefore entitled to be treated using the same principles that applied in earlier cases.

Nathan was tested after she won the New Zealand women's 72kg title at the national championships in Rotorua on August 30.

She stepped up to the senior division because there was no opposition in her junior division.

The tribunal said it accepted that she did not use the drug to enhance her performance. She told the tribunal she smoked cannabis at a cousin's birthday two weeks before the tournament and had not considered the consequences of her actions.

Nathan will be stripped of her national title and all medals and prizes won at the championships.

Steel said it was "no fun" for DFSNZ to have to deal with a 15-year-old. "We decided to test the winner of that event and it was her ... she was competing as a senior, so there was no way we could cut her any slack."