Monday, 25 February 2008

MacLeod Cleared of Positive Drug Test

According to the BBC website, Scotland rugby forward, Scott MacLeod, has been cleared after testing positive for Terbutaline in January.

Google News reports that Terbutaline is on the World Anti-Doping Code Prohibited list. A therapeutic use exemption (TUE) must be obtained if it is prescribed through an inhaler.

As it turns out the Scotland lock has been suffering from asthma since he was a toddler and had been taking the drug in an inhaler.

Despite the positive result, he was was cleared and avoided a one year ban, under the grounds that he had “inadvertently taken a prohibited asthma medication". However he did receive a warning as he was taking the medication without the required permission

MacLeod said:

"I'm not a cheat and I'm pleased that the panel accepted that I'd used Terbutaline inadvertently and that there had been no intention to enhance sports performance. Hopefully other players will be a bit more savvy given what's happened to me. I want to put this behind me now and concentrate on the job in hand with the national team."


Asthmatic MacLeod did actually have a TUE, which was issued in April 2006, that noted he had been on Terbutaline in the past but it wasn’t available at the time.

Click here for Press Conference Video

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