IS BEATING NFL'S TEST FOR POT EASY AS TAKING FLUIDS?

Ricky Williams, who admits he smokes marijuana, said a professional
football player would have to be an ``idiot'' to be caught with the
banned substance in his system during testing by the NFL.

That is because many players use liquids commonly available at vitamin
or nutrition stores to effectively mask the drug during urine tests.
The liquids, ranging in price from $30 to $50, help defeat drug
testing on which the NFL has invested millions of dollars.

``Everyone knows about this,'' Williams said over the weekend, when he
retired from the Miami Dolphins. ``It's no secret to anyone.''

Drug and vitamin stores, both national chains and local
establishments, carry products such as Liquid 420, Triple X, Omni and
QCarbo that are known to mask certain drugs. Williams said he, along
with many other players, commonly drink gallons of the liquids to mask
marijuana use.

However, the NFL on Tuesday expressed confidence that its drug-testing
procedures cannot be defeated in such a way.

``What our doctors and experts tell us is that those liquids don't
work,'' Greg Aiello, the league's vice president for public relations,
said. ``Players aren't beating the tests. Those solutions are not
effective because what makes them mask marijuana are large quantities
of water. If a player gives a specimen that is diluted by large
amounts of water, it is deemed a violation of the test. If they use
the liquids, even if it masks the substance, the test will be
considered a positive. So in our program, that part is covered.''

NFL players are tested on a random basis during any three-month window
between April and August. All players are tested at least once a year,
Aiello said.

The masking products are also available on the Internet. ClearTest, a
company based in Petaluma, sells a variety of such substances on its
Web site.

Despite its availability, not everyone in NFL circles is aware
marijuana tests are being defeated by the liquids.

Dolphins Coach Dave Wannstedt said he did not know what Williams was
talking about when asked about the potion. Leigh Steinberg, an agent
who represents Williams and scores of other star players, said he had
no clue Williams was using drugs and did not know the product exists.

``I've been around athletes for a long time and I was the student body
president in college at Berkeley, so I'm not naive about this,''
Steinberg said. ``But I had no idea.''

The products require an individual to drink the solution along with a
specified amount of water, approximately 32 to 64 ounces. The
individual should then urinate three or four times before the test to
cleanse the marijuana toxins from the system.

``Pilots, Army recruiters, mothers and daughters together,'' come into
the store to buy the products, said Edwin Gonzalez, who works for a
fitness store in Pembroke Pines, Fla.

``It's a huge market right now. . . . Anybody on probation that is
tested once a month, they're going to come for it once a month.''

Does it work?

``Obviously, if people come in a lot of times -- it works,'' Gonzalez said.

One expert disagrees.

``There are a lot of products that claim they do things,'' said Dr.
Terry Hall of Toxicology Testing Service, Inc., a Miami laboratory
currently certified to meet the standards for Federal Workplace Drug
Testing Programs as outlined by the Department of Health and Human
Services.

``You will even find people that say they beat the test. But then
you're going to find people that got caught because the agent they
took didn't do what they thought it was going to do.''

Williams tested positive for marijuana use twice. He said he got
caught the second time because he neglected to take the masking liquid.

``I was an idiot,'' he said.