Popov Calls On IOC To Better Define Banned Drugs
1998-11-18

Agence France-Presse reported that Alexandre Popov has called on the Olympic movement to speed up attempts to finally define what is a banned drug.

He was quoted as saying that "We have got to the point in sport now when it's difficult to say what exactly is a drug," and added that "we've got to define exactly what you can take."

They report that the International Olympic Committee is holding a drugs forum next February to find a way through the legal minefield posed by drug-testing procedures which are increasingly challenged by the lawyers.

The forum was called after IOC president Juan-Antonio Samaranch questioned whether Spanish riders who deserted the Tour de France cycling race in July were fleeing possible sanctions for drug use.