Anti-Doping Legislation Passed in the Lower House of Parliament and to be Debated in the Senate this Friday

Piloted by the by the Honourable Olivia “Babsy” Grange, Minister of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports, (MICYS), the Bill, entitled the Anti-Doping In Sports Act, was passed in the Lower House of Parliament on Tuesday ( July 22).
The Act received full bi-partisan support.
It will be debated in the Senate (Upper House) tomorrow (Friday, July 25) and passage in the Senate would give the Jamaica Anti-doping Commission (JADCO) the legal framework with which to carry out official testing of all athletes. The Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Senator Dorothy Lightbourne, will pilot the Bill in the Senate.
The Anti-Doping legislation paves the way for the Jamaica Anti-doping Commission to fully implement the National Anti-doping Programme.
The Jamaica Anti-doping Commission was established in 2005 after Cabinet adopted the World Anti-doping Code in November 2003 and signed the Copenhagen Declaration on Anti-doping in Sport on February 10, 2004. The Commission will: . Ensure an anti-doping environment which influences behaviour among participants and prevents use of prohibited substances and prohibited methods.. Promote a drug-free environment for sports in Jamaica which protects the rights of athletes and athlete support staff, health, fairness and equality for all participants in sports. Ensure effective implementation of the anti-doping programme in Jamaica regarding the detection; deterrence and prevention of doping and work collaboratively with regional and international organizations and governments with respect to doping control initiatives. Develop appropriate and fair procedures for the determination of anti-doping rule violations and consequences and other decisions made in the interest of doping-free sports.
JADCO is headed by Executive Director, Dr. Patrece Charles-Freeman who expressed pleasure at the passing of the Act in the Lower House, “jumping the first hurdle.”
“Passing of the legislation will allow us to effectively carry out our full mandate which includes among other things; establishing the registered testing pool of national and international level athletes; directing the National Doping Control Programme; the collection of samples; the management of test results and conducting hearings in keeping with the standards of the WADA Code.”
According to Dr. Charles-Freeman, “Doping among athletes in all sports has become a worldwide phenomenon and with the excellent performances of sprinters, Jamaican athletes have come under greater scrutiny, notwithstanding continuous testing. This makes the passing of the legislation and the effective legitimisation of JADCO very timely, as an effective, independent, state-run commission is crucial to the credibility of the performance of our athletes.” JADCO is now to launch its extensive educational and information programme, informing persons in sports about issues such as:. The health consequences of doping. Harm of doping to the ethical values of sport. The ethical values of sports. Substance and methods and the prohibited list. Nutritional supplements and other issues to do with achieving the mandate of doping – free sport.. Therapeutic use exemptions. Doping control procedures. Athletes’ rights and responsibilities with regard to anti-doping in sports and the consequences of committing an Anti-doping Rule Violation.