Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport

(Ottawa, Ontario – June 28, 2013) – Japan has become the latest country to join the Global Drug Reference Online (Global DRO) network, providing more athletes than ever before with the opportunity to benefit from easily accessible and accurate information about the sport status of their medications.

Global DRO is an online tool originally created through a partnership between UK Anti-Doping (UKAD), the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) to allow athletes to check the prohibited status of licensed medications according to the latest World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List. In 2012, there were more than 314,000 inquires between the web and mobile sites, proof of the popularity and effectiveness of the resource.

Now, athletes based in Japan can check the status of medications purchased in their home country as the Japan Anti-Doping Agency (JADA) has become part of the Global DRO system. The benefits of the new license extend to athletes and support personnel from the UK, USA or Canada, who now have four countries’ brand data at their fingertips.

Athletes are advised to check Global DRO before taking any medication by simply searching the name of the product to find out whether it is prohibited, in or out of competition.

“As one of the founding partners, we are pleased to see Japan joining Global DRO and we encourage other national anti-doping agencies to join as well,” says Paul Melia, President and CEO of the CCES.  “As more countries’ drugs are added to the database, there is an exponential benefit for athletes that train and compete internationally: a single, consistent source for this critical information.”

The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport is an independent, national, not-for profit organization. We recognize that true sport can make a great difference for individuals, communities and our country. We are committed to working collaboratively to activate a values-based and principle-driven sport system; protecting the integrity of sport from the negative forces of doping and other unethical threats; and advocating for sport that is fair, safe and open to everyone. 

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