It’s hard not to enjoy the Olympics.  There’s always some aspect to get your attention – the variety of people attending, sports you never heard of, flags you’ve never seen, new things to learn.  We have learned something new already today – do you know Ross Rebagliati?

Ross won the first gold medal ever for snowboarding at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan.  After this great accomplishment, the International Olympic Committee rewarded him by stepping in – and taking his medal.  Why?

Because he failed a drug test.

Ross tested positive for marijuana and the medal was taken from him, although not for long.  Interestingly enough, at the time the International Olympic Committee did not have a set policy with regard to marijuana as a banned substance, at least where it concerned snowboarders and skiers and others monitored by the International Ski Foundation.  The medal was given back when it was determined that the International Olympic Committee, for the reason given above, had no right to take the medal.  You can read more details about this at the National Drug Strategy Network’s site.

Imagine losing a gold medal to a drug test!  It’s happened to a lot of people – CBC, the big Canadian news outlet, has an interesting rundown of all the different ways people have cheated in the Olympics.

It’s now all the harder for athletes to pass a drug test with the invention of the hair drug test.  When you can collect a drug history of 90 days on someone, it is hard to keep a secret, and the hair follicle test is also very difficult to cheat.  The hair follicle drug test tests the drugs inside the hair, breaking down the hair once it reaches the lab in order to get to what’s inside that’s hard to reach with shampoos or any other method.

It’s hard to beat your competitors in the Olympics, but it’s also hard to beat a drug test.  Stay clean and remember what an important tool a hair drug test can be for finding out drug use amongst you, your family, and friends.