RE: Drug policy

[Steph Teeter <step@fsr.com>]

  > I guess the first question to ask is how much of a problem is this?  How
  > many positive test did the AERC have out of how many riders tested. 

Well, to my knowledge it is a very small (infrequent) problem - the
first  case (that I know of) where punishing the rider was AERC's only recourse,
but  all agreed that it was the 'wrong' thing to do.

But, from the perspective of the rider,  it was a very big problem - she lost
her record for the year, and was banned from attending AERC rides for
3 months. Plus the incident was published in EN. Pretty big deal.

So though it was a rare case, it still needed to be dealt with. Part of the reason
it's such a rare thing is that drug testing at AERC rides is also quite rare. There
were not many rides tested last year (most of those that were tested were in
California) - but I understand that testing will become more frequent in the future...

  > suspect that there are not many and if not it is a problem better left
  > to the AERC to interperate on a case by case basis rather than get into
  > "acceptable levels"  Even if there were "acceptable levels" established
  > it would not answer the original question on withdrawal since each horse
  > will matabolize a drug at a different rate.  

  > Truman

Agreed - and now AERC has the option of dealing with individual cases in 
a 'non-punitive' manner.

Steph