U.S. SUPPORTS NEW DRUG STANDARDS

McCaffrey Pledges $1 Million Toward Advanced Olympic Testing

Olympic athletes should be available for drug testing 365 days a year, not
just during Olympic years, and there should be an independent agency to
administer such tests, said Barry McCaffrey, director of the Office of
National Drug Control Policy.

McCaffrey, the White House's drug czar, put those and other recommendations
for eliminating athlete drug use into a 10-page policy paper sent to
International Olympic Committee members.

McCaffrey will be part of the U.S. delegation led by U.S. Olympic Committee
President Bill Hybl that will attend the IOC world conference on doping
held in Lausanne, Switzerland, Feb. 2-4.

"We're going there to argue for the future, for a common, collective
principal of athletes that don't need to dope themselves to compete,"
McCaffrey said. "We're going to go over and put down a payment of a million
dollars on the table to begin the process."

The $1 million in federal funds will go toward developing advanced drug
testing for illegal performance-enhancing drugs.

The U.S. government became interested in the USOC's efforts to eliminate
drug use by athletes following an incident at the 1998 Winter Olympics.
Canadian snowboarder Ross Rebagliati was stripped of his gold medal in the
giant slalom after testing positive for marijuana.

Rebagliati argued that marijuana was not a performance-enhancing drug and
should not be banned. The Office of National Drug Control Policy was
concerned that this case sent the wrong message to young people and has
worked with the USOC on the issue.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy's involvement "brings to the
IOC's attention a very strong voice representing the American people," USOC
spokesman Mike Moran said. "It's a very powerful voice, working with us."

McCaffrey's proposal also includes standardizing testing methods for every
sport and every country, making available the National Institute on Drug
Abuse for research, providing incentives for athletes, coaches and trainers
to come forward to report use of illegal substances and awarding
supplemental medals to those athletes who were deprived a medal by another
athlete's use of performance-enhancing drugs to earn a victory.

"If it's understood there's no statute of limitations [for being caught
using performance-enhancing drugs], it's a powerful incentive not to
compete through cheating," McCaffrey said.

McCaffrey also said he would like to see the IOC create such an independent
agency for testing in time for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. His
office has been in contact with several countries eliciting support for the
proposal.

Some questioned whether taking on such a thorny issue while the IOC is
embroiled in controversy was a good idea.

"This crisis they're now undergoing may allow us to take a fresh look at
some very tough problems," McCaffrey said. "Taking on the doping challenge
will not be easy. . . . There must be institutional reform if the IOC can
do the heavy lifting required to protect athletes from a doping regime."