Comments on: Does PGA Tour drug policy turn blind eye to recreational drugs?

By: Suspension of Doug Barron Makes PGA Tour Look Silly

Suspension of Doug Barron Makes PGA Tour Look Silly — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 14:47:04 +0000

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By: Marty Henwood

Marty Henwood — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:22:31 +0000

Well said, BP but with all due respect, the point of making isn’t as much a joint as, like I mentioned, a hypothetical dime bag. If Barron was suspended for beta blockers and testosterone, then surely recreational drugs have to be met with similar penalties. I am not talking a joint here.

The jail reference was tongue-in-cheek, but the point is not. It’s hard to believe Barron was gaining an “unfair advantage” with medication for a condition, prescribed by a doctor. No one is saying the PGA Tour should be police officers, but if a player tests positive for cocaine or marijuana(for instance), they had better be willing to call that player on the carpet like they did with Barron. Recreational drugs should be on that banned list. That is the point.

It’s not about a crime. If the PGA Tour is willing to take away a player’s living for prescribed medication – regardless of what their banned substance list says – then Barron’s lawyer has a point if previous positive tests have gone unpunished.

Thanks for your feedback.

By: bar patron

bar patron — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:12:01 +0000

I’d say getting a positive drug test for smoking a joint with the boys 3 weeks ago likely isn’t going to get you thrown in the slammer no matter who you are. Actually, I’d think you’d be pretty hard pressed to get anything – even a fine – for just a positive test. If the player had been seen smoking at the event, doing a line off his yardage book at the turn, or was carrying a couple grams in his bag then maybe you’d face a judge, but seriously – the courts would laugh the PGA out of the room if they showed up and said “this guy has THC in his system, our test confirmed it.”

They’re in the business of preventing an unfair advantage in sport, not the business of regulating people’s lives and acting as police officers.