The drug that Kelly White took, modafinil, is not as exotic as it has been made out to be in some reports. The brand name in the US is Provigil, and while it is fairly new I know the makers think it can be a huge moneymaker for them. There was an article about it in The New Yorker over a year ago which talked about how it could completely change the way the military deals with fatigue. An article this spring in Slate talked about the author's experience with the drug. The gist of both articles, as well as the marketing and review info I have read, was that the drug helps ward off sleepiness and fatigue without any other stimulant effects.
Modafinil is in the class of drugs called "eugeroics." The only other drug in the class is adrafinil, which is an earlier version that is not as recommended for long-term use. I have tried adrafinil, which is non-prescription but not available in the US, becuase I have some symptoms that might seem to indicate it but have very strong reactions to caffeine (for instance, can't fall asleep at night after one can of Coke at lunch). My experience would match the literature, both scientific and popular - I did not feel any stimulant effects, but did notice that I was not as sleepy and focused better. I never took it consistently and was not training hard at the time, but it never occurred to me that their might be a positive impact; in fact, I was more worried that it might cause some kind of severe unknown problem and had no intention of ever using it in conjunction with hard training or competition. On the other hand, I have definitely felt a positive impact from caffeine ! before long, intense efforts, at levels way below the legal limits. So having said that, I would not have thought of it as a potential stimulant that I would need to list on a form - it is not in the same class of drugs as any of the listed stimulants, and is not advertised as having any of those properties. If White really was taking it for non-athletic medical reasons, I would not be surprised if she thought of it the same way. On the other hand, given the amount of involvement someone at White's level has with the drug-testing regime, I don't know how she would leave ANYTHING off the forms. So White was probably stupid not to put it down. But far stupider is the IAAF. This drug is not in the same pharmacological class as anything on their banned list - how do they say it is covered by "related substances"? One report I read quoted a drug-testing official as saying they had seen recent cases where athletes were using modafinil to get a performance-enhancing effect. If that is the case, they had overwhelming reason to specifically list it on the banned list - why didn't they? Furthermore, is it sufficient for a drug to be banned that someone used it in an attempt to gain an advantage? Shouldn't there be some sort of evidence that it might actually be performance-enhancing? From what I have seen, we have a drug that is not on the banned list, not related to other items on the banned list, does not have the same effect as other items on the list, and not advertised as having any performance enhancing effects. Why is someone potentially being suspended for ta! king this? david
