From: ampe@cbnews.cb.att.com (john.e.ampe)
Subject: Re: Cyling [sic] and Doping
Organization: AT&T
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 16:02:30 GMT

In article <+yfrc5g@lynx.unm.edu> sery@crunch.unm.edu (sery) writes:
>Bruce Hildenbrand writes:
>>>Sery writes:
>>>Obviously she was taking it to enhance her performance.  However, it wasn't a 
>>>case of abuse since two Uptimes and two coffees is NOT very much caffeine
>>>and it is not a banned substance in any case.
>>
>>Using caffeine at such a level that it shows up in the boby's blood system
>>in abnormally high amounts(as determined by the UCI) is indeed illegal,
>>so, in that light she was taking a banned substance.  This is indeed
>>substance abuse.
>
>What are two Uptimes worth in terms of cup of coffees?  Two, four, six?
>Twelve cups is supposed to be roughly the limit.  So she wasn't even close
>by any standard and yet she was "caught".

How can you make such a claim when you admit that you have no idea how
much caffeine is contained in an Uptime?  Nor do you know her body
weight.  But you're right, Paul, she wasn't even close -- she was OVER
the limit, 6.5 hours after her event.  That's guilty by anyone's
standards.

>  Abnormal is a word which doesn't
>mean anything in this context!  For Janelle it was abnormal to drink the
>equivalent of 8 cups.  I say either ban it or don't.  It's unfair otherwise.

Well, Paul, if that happens, then caffeine will certainly be banned
outright, since it is a dangerous, performance-enhancing drug.  Is that
really what you want?

>>The fact that the caffeine apparently stayed in her body longer than other
>>people does not, in my eyes, make the situation unfair.  If Ms. Parks is
>>going to use a substance that is considered illegal in abnormally high
>>quantities in the blood to enhance her performance, then SHE should do
>>her homework and figure out what are the doses she can take and still
>     ^^^^^^^^
>>remain below the legal limit.  Plain and simple.
>
>So you're saying as long as you're smart enough not to get caught its okay?
>
>>>I drink quadruple espressos before tt's to enhance my performance.  I assume
>>>that since I drink lots of coffee everyday and am fairly heavy I'm okay but
>>>I really don't know.  So if my body assimilates it and I pass the test 
>>>than I am not cheating. However, if I am the one-in-a-hundred that gets 
>>>busted then I am considered to be a drug abuser.  It's that arbitrariness 
>>>that makes it unfair.
>>
>>This is not arbitrary at all.  The rules state the acceptable levels.
>>If you can't play by the rules, don`t play.
>
>Acceptable, abnormal????  They are words when used in the context of rules
>make automatically arbitrary.  

Paul, the rules are designed so that CASUAL use of caffeine (1 or 2
cups a day) will not be banned.  There is considerable leeway provided
in the threshold so that people will not be over the threshold with
CASUAL use.  This was clearly not a case of casual use, and she
deserved to be caught.  Yes, it is unfortunate that not everyone who
abuses caffeine will be caught.  If you want to be safe, then either
don't use it at all, or use it at a level that will clearly not be
over the threshold.

>>>If she had just drunk coffee would you feel differently?  The implication that
>>>I read into what you wrote is that you would.
>>I would not feel any differently no matter how the caffeine was injested,
>>then again I loathe coffee.
>
>Them's fight'n words in these parts;-)
>
>>ps - I love all these people taking caffeine before TT's.  The major
>>physiological benefit of caffeine is to help the body speed up it's
>>fatty acid metabolism mechanism, something which is only of benefit after
>>1-2 hours of racing.  This would hardly seem appropriate for a
>>55 minute or so effort.  Any anectdotal responses on how much faster
>>caffeine makes you go in events >1 hour can be sent to /dev/null.
>
>I agree!  It's so mild that I don't worry about the morality.  So why is a 
>rule necessary then!?

Sorry, Paul, you're all caught up in your own logic.  If it's "so
mild," then why do you take it at all?  You admit yourself that you
take it for its performance enhancing effect.  Therefore it is not
mild.  Janelle was also clearly taking it with performance enhancement
in mind.  Anyone who uses a banned drug with this intent deserves to
be caught and punished.  By the way, this has nothing to do with
morality.  It has to do with using drugs that have known harmful
effects.

John_Ampe@att.com
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.racing