The World Anti-Doping Agency issued a statement saying that it "does not believe doping should be made a criminal offense for athletes," according to Neal Rogers of VELO NEWS. Responding to "recent commentary via the media suggesting that doping in sport should be made a criminal offence for athletes," WADA stated that the organization "does not wish to interfere in the sovereign right of any government to make laws for its people." Pointing to the existing process, which includes a right of appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport for every athlete, as well as a longer, four-year period of ineligibility for serious doping offenses, WADA stated that the current system has "been globally accepted by sport and government," while acknowledging that "countries that have introduced criminal legislation for doping have been effective in catching athlete support personnel that possess or traffic performance enhancing drugs." Earlier this year, the German government passed draft legislation "making it illegal for athletes to use performance-enhancing drugs inside Germany’s borders." The law cites jail terms of "up to three years for professional athletes caught using or possessing performance-enhancing drugs." The law, which still must be approved by Germany’s parliament, "would affect the approximately 7,000 elite athletes who are subject to the regulations of Germany’s National Anti Doping Agency." It "does not apply to amateur athletes." Several of Germany’s neighbors -- France, Italy, and Austria -- "have passed legislation that has also criminalized doping" (VELONEWS, 10/26).
