Hello MarkyV and All, To reduced the cost of personnel to administer drug tests that are a significant expense ...... it seems that there are agencies and labs that could be 'deputized' to do the tests for outlying locations.
http://www.drugfreesport.com/...ort-drug-testing.asp When I worked for an airline I was 'suprised' drug tested at various locations by contract personnel ..... usually on arrival in the United States .... so the agencies are available .... like the one above.
Also
http://www.americanscreeningcorp.com/Default.aspx shows an FDA approved 12 panel cup for about $4.37 per test and they advertise drug tests for sweat, spit, and so on at reasonable costs.
http://www.theathlete.org/...esting-In-Sports.htm Excerpt:
"According to an August 2013 article printed in the British newspaper, The Daily Mail, the Word Anti-Doping Agency (or WADA for short) administered more than 267,000 drug tests to athletes around the world in 2012. Of the tests administered, approximately 3200 (or 1.2%) of the results came back as positive or had adverse findings that disqualified offending athletes from competition or resulted in forfeitures of wins or medals.The testing procedures for
drug abuse in sports are strict and at times deemed unfair by athletes. They are deemed unfair because athletes are responsible for knowing what is banned despite the fact that additions are made almost daily to the list of banned substances. The best possible solution is to avoid all drugs unless listed on the allowed substance list."
On balance 1.2% positive does not seem to be a major problem .... and 267,000 is a lot of drug tests .... so WADA is doing a pretty good job on the face of it. http://www.ncaa.org/...s-about-drug-testing "The penalty for a positive test for a performance-enhancing drug (PED) is strict and automatic: student-athletes lose one full year of eligibility for the first offense (25 percent of their total eligibility) and are withheld from competition for 365 days from the date of the test. A second positive test for a PED results in the loss of all remaining eligibility.
The penalty for a positive test for a substance in the street drug class is withholding from competition for 50% of the season in all sports in which the student-athlete participates. A second positive test for a street drug results in the loss of a year of eligibility and withholding from participation for 365 days from the test."
http://www.usada.org/testing/ "Testing is an important part of any effective anti-doping program, and the area that most often comes to mind when thinking about anti-doping. From test planning and collection of a urine or blood sample, through the results managements process, USADA provides a thorough program, with policies and procedures in accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code, the WADA International Standards, the United States Olympic Committee Anti-Doping Rules, and the USADA Protocol for Olympic and Paralympic Movement Testing."
It would be interestng to see what actual costs are for drug testing and what devices and procedures will be available in the near term to reduce those costs and improve the efficiency of the process.
Cheers, Neal
+1 mph Faster