Positive tests reveal recreational drug use

FIVE of the seven positive tests recorded by the Irish Sports Council anti-doping programme in 2004 were for recreational drugs, according to its annual report released yesterday.

But ISC chief executive John Treacy doesn’t believe that such findings undermine the €1.3 million spent on the programme.

The Council carried out 918 tests in 2004, and while these included the high-profile case of Cathal Lombard, only one other instance of a performance-enhancing substance was found and that was later given an exemption on therapeutic grounds.