What if there was a pro organization, and they drug tested?

CreeDo said:
Well, I'm curious... did you mean mighty players would fall as in, they couldn't shoot good pool anymore without the assistance of their favorite drugs? Or did you just mean... they'd get nailed by the pisstest frequently and be banned from playing, and end up kind of washed up?
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I'm confused ... as you were the person that originally used the phrase "mighty players would fall" ... are you asking yourself what you meant by your own post?

Anyway ... if drug testing also included beta blockers without a prescription, I would be very interested in the results. While I was at a local tournament and it seemed that the men's bathroom stalls were full of guys with serious allergies or the flu (sniff sniff sniff), I have to think that the upper levels are mostly dominated by performance anxiety blockers, such as blood pressure meds, aka beta blockers. Drug testing a pro player with perfect blood pressure and getting a positive for Toprol would be fun. :)
 
CreeDo said:
Well, I'm curious... did you mean mighty players would fall as in, they couldn't shoot good pool anymore without the assistance of their favorite drugs? Or did you just mean... they'd get nailed by the pisstest frequently and be banned from playing, and end up kind of washed up?
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Well, maybe both. Im not trying to label any specific players, please don't think I'm aiming for that. But would it make difference in a player's ability if certain chemicals/drugs weren't present or allowed?

For example, lots of people think they shoot better pool after a few beers, and maybe they do...(I think I do... Not drunk, just 1 or 2 or 3 drinks) More relaxed, etc. But, alcohol is legal. Suppose there are some people (pros inlcuded) that feel they play better with the assistance of some other drugs... Would the regular testing for drugs expose these players?

And furthermore, and perhaps more troubling, is would it be possible that these players may not be able to maintain their level of play without said chemical? If they had to be tested, would some pros not be able to perform as well is all I'm wondering. And if so, should testing become mandatory since those players have an "advantage" over their peers?
 
Well theres a reason they are called performance enhancing and most are on the Olympic banned list and yes there would be some players that may not cope with the pressure as well without them. There were a couple of snooker players caught back in the 80's and after that they never won another thing.

What I do have an issue with is if a player has a physiological condition such as tremors or anxiety/panic attacks why should they not be able to take the prescribed drugs, they have a medical condition that is putting them at a disadvantage and they cannot compete because of it. Billy Werbeniuk suffered from tremors and when the WPBSA introduced the olympic standards for testing he was out cause he could no longer take inderal (beta blockers), wrong imo. He ended up drinking himself stupid cause that was still legal, go figure.
 
JohnGalt said:
Lots of other sports do it. Just introducing a topic for discussion, not trying to accuse anyone specific. Personally, I could care less - but it is a reality in the world of pro sports. Oh how some of the mighty might fall.
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Who are the pool organizations that would be doing this? Pool is so irrelevant who would really care? Is there some controversy going on in the pool community regarding drugs?
I can see the headline, "Drug testing in professional pool to begin". Then the reader saying,
"There is professional pool"?
In other words, what is the point, to throw someone out of a sport no one can make a living at anyway?
 
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The drug of choice today for pool players is prescription pills.

Nobody drinks alcohol. Actually, they never did, except for maybe one player who "used" to follow the tournament trail on a regular basis. Pool players today are usually gulping down water when competing in professional events

Aderrall may be used by a couple non-pros -- with emphasis on "non" -- when they need to stay awake for long periods of time and gamble.

Though there are a few old-school players who still enjoy a couple tokes of marijuana from time to time, the biggest culprit is pain killers, i.e., Vicodin, Percocet, Oxy, et cetera. In fact, a couple pool super stars are addicted, sad to say, and can't shoot without these drugs. Their so-called "friends" think they are helping them by feeding them these pain killers every time they see them. Meanwhile, these poor fellows are in for the most brutal withdrawal of their life when they are forced to quit due to liver damage.

Pot and alcohol is passé. Today's drug-takers are all about prescription pills. In case you haven't heard, it's an epidemic in this country. I won't even get into the counterfeit pain killers that are sold today in the underground market. They are made in chemical labs in other countries, laced with hepatitis, rat droppings, and other poisonous ingredients. They are usually sold for top dollar and don't even have the right amount of pain killer in them, but each pill is made to look like the real thing.
 
I guess this would be valid if the reason pool was not a major sport was perceived drug abuse by its stars. I dont really believe that is the case, I believe it has more to do with the shady perception of pool and its players by main stream america.

I dont really see drug abuse as a major problem, unless you include weed, which is prolly the pool players drug of choice. However weed is legal in quite a few states, so with the proper paperwork that would be excused.

The only way pool is goin to get big is if it is seen as a viable career choice for young america.

have a nice day
 
It always cracks me up how fast people are willing to force others to piss in a cup for some perceived benefit.

Ridiculous.

Players can't even get paid at the event and they want to start drug testing? How much per test is it if you want to test for beta blockers, adderal,etc.?

Cheap paper strip tests are 20 bucks but they only test for a few drugs and aren't that accurate. Real tests on gas chromatographs and other chemical equipment cost a lot more.

I've taken (and passed) almost two dozen piss tests and I am sick to death of doing it.

I can just see it...430 guys lined up to piss so they can enter the bank pool at the DCC.
 
Bullshit!!!!!

I get drug tested once a year,which is for Ins. purposes. Or if you cause an injury or get injured, that's fine but random testing for no reason that's Bullshit.
Maybe for professional athletes(steroids)
Airline pilots(anything)
But for the average Joe Shmo HELL NO!
 
A couple of years ago (think it was 2008 or 2009) a top Dutch poolplayer got suspended because he tested positive on marihuana. In response to that some people organized the Amsterdam (d)open. Every competitor received a portion of weed before the start of the tournament and had to smoke so that nobody would have an advantage. It was a verry laidback tournament. ;) I don't understand why it's even on the list of forbidden products because I can't see how it gives you an advantage.
 
Maybe I am naive... fair to say. I've heard people make claims that drugs can help someone shoot better, but all I have is hearsay that X pro would be lost without his favorite drug. How much worse would he shoot? 5%? 50%? Nobody wants to name names, but it's hard to take stories seriously that start like: "I once shot with this guy and..."

I know nobody wants to slander anyone, I just wish people would stop being coy about it. If someone is willing to pm me a story or two that involves a player someone's actually heard of, I'd be grateful (and discreet).

It's not quite the same to compare it to the olympics. We still argue all the time whether pool is a sport or a game, and comparing it to running a mile or jumping hurdles puts it pretty firmly in the sport category. It's not a game of muscle so you can't compare it to steroids. Are beta blockers or adderall really like steroids for the brain or your eyes or your stroke? I don't see them that way. I think they just fix existing imbalances and problems. I did shoot well once on adderall but not better than I ever had.

Coke seems to be the obvious target if we're gonna talk about banning something. Does it really help that much? I mean is it better than your best day of pool, or is it just turning a regular day into a good day of shooting?
 
I think it's mostly between the ears. Just like the placebo effect. I'm sure some people try to cheat but I can't really see what drug makes you a better poolplayer.
 
Salty said:
I think it's mostly between the ears. Just like the placebo effect. I'm sure some people try to cheat but I can't really see what drug makes you a better poolplayer.
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There are many drugs that can relieve fear and anxiety and this will enhance the performance of players that suffer with this and allow them to play to the best of their abillity under pressure. as I said earlier there is a reason for the Olympic banned list.
 
Marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, will stay in a persons system for a length of time depending on how much, meaning the frequency, of use.

Drug testing kits are available. My wife is an addiction counselor, I have a bag of them in a drawer. They aren't hard to obtain for self testing.

Tournaments are spaced apart so I think a player that uses would just quit
for the length of time it takes in order to test negative. After their P test, they might be free to ingest whatever their preference is before they start their sets. Unless, they are under the threat of a random test during the tournament.

Either way, I don't see it happening ever in the pool world.

On Marijuana: I don't understand why it's even on the list of forbidden products because I can't see how it gives you an advantage.
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In a chicken wing eating contest, it might.
 
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Philthepockets said:
There are many drugs that can relieve fear and anxiety and this will enhance the performance of players that suffer with this and allow them to play to the best of their abillity under pressure. as I said earlier there is a reason for the Olympic banned list.
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I agree that there are drugs who can do that but is it really worth it? What about the side effects? Addiction in the long run? IMO you better stay away from it. What concerns the list, this list is not the same for all sports and some items on it are verry questionable.
 
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