WADA takes page from Minority Report to identify athletes who show "doping intention"

[Millard]

Remember that sci-fi movie with Tom Cruise called Minority Report? The police arrested people who had never committed a crime but were predicted to commit a crime in the future. Well, maybe WADA is taking a page from the MInority Report. They are introducing "educational" testing to identify athletes who show "doping intention". They say it is so that they can cure them. But what athletes is going to trust an anti-steroid agency that wants to predict if they will use steroids?

http://playtrue.wada-ama.org/news/wada-launches-alpha-a-fresh-approach-to-anti-doping-elearning-for-athletes/

http://steroid.com/blog/WADA-Wants-to-Predict-and-Identify-Athletes-Who-Show-Doping-Intention.php

 

[element00]

Thanks Millard, very interesting. From how I read this it is looking for psychological and behavioural indicators that supposedly places a person at greater risk of use? I wonder if there is any focus on looking at genetic markers for risk of AAS use? Pharmacogenomics is a growing area to identify how individuals may respond to specific drugs such benzodiazepines, anti depressants and pain medications and it seems this science will be further developed. Other genetic testing is being flagged to identify markers for increased risk of addiction with a view to then have more targeted early intervention approaches and I am interested to know how these findings could be applied to PEDs. I have real ethical concerns regarding the applications of this emerging science and think the moral panic associated with AAS use leaves it open for scrutiny by the zealots

 

[Millard]

Thanks Millard, very interesting. From how I read this it is looking for psychological and behavioural indicators that supposedly places a person at greater risk of use? I wonder if there is any focus on looking at genetic markers for risk of AAS use? Pharmacogenomics is a growing area to identify how individuals may respond to specific drugs such benzodiazepines, anti depressants and pain medications and it seems this science will be further developed. Other genetic testing is being flagged to identify markers for increased risk of addiction with a view to then have more targeted early intervention approaches and I am interested to know how these findings could be applied to PEDs. I have real ethical concerns regarding the applications of this emerging science and think the moral panic associated with AAS use leaves it open for scrutiny by the zealots

I'd love to see the therapeutic potential realized. But I have serious concerns about a "punitive" group like WADA pretending to take a "therapeutic" approach. At the very least, it is a conflict of interest. Who needs big brother to say they care about preventing you from using PEDS if they will only ban you from sports for 4 years to life if you make a mistake and get caught.

 

[element00]

I'd love to see the therapeutic potential realized. But I have serious concerns about a "punitive" group like WADA pretending to take a "therapeutic" approach. At the very least, it is a conflict of interest. Who needs big brother to say they care about preventing you from using PEDS if they will only ban you from sports for 4 years to life if you make a mistake and get caught.

Ah yes but the "we are just here to stop you from hurting yourself" rhetoric seems to validate the punishment. After all it's the misinformation promoted by WADA and the national bodies that gets legitimacy from decision makers, media and the lay community so I imagine these early identification strategies would receive widespread support