Sport

Recreational drugs should be taken off WADA list says footballers and cricketers

16:45 pm on 5 October 2010

The player unions representing footballers and cricketers in England have called for recreational drugs to be removed from the World Anti-Doping Agency's prohibited list.

Rather than punishing athletes who test positive for cocaine and marijuana during in-competition testing with a two-year ban for a first offence, the groups are appealing for leniency with a focus on rehabilitation.

Ian Smith, the Professional Cricketers' Association's legal director, says recreational drugs aren't usually about gaining an unfair advantage and it should be removed from the WADA list.