USADA sanctions Crater for marijuana doping violation

Andrew Crater of Asheville, North Carolina, has tested positive for a prohibited substance and accepted a suspension for his doping offense, as announced today by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

Crater, 32, tested positive for Carboxy THC, a metabolite of marijuana in the class of Cannabinoids, in a sample collected on August 1, 2010, at the Tour of Elk Grove, in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.

Cannabinoids are listed as Specified Substances and are prohibited under the USADA Protocol for Olympic and Paralympic Movement Testing and the International Cycling Union (UCI), both of which have adopted the World Anti-Doping Code and the WADA Prohibited List. Use of Specified Substances, under certain circumstances, can result in a reduced sanction from the standard two-year period of ineligibility.

Crater accepted a three-month period of ineligibility, which began on September 7, 2010, the day he accepted the sanction. The period of ineligibility was suspended and reduced to time served since he accepted the sanction, after he successfully completed a USADA anti-doping educational program on September 8, 2010.

As a result of the doping violation, Crater has been disqualified from all competitive results achieved at the Tour of Elk Grove, where his sample was collected, through and including September 8, 2010, the date he completed the doping education program, including forfeiture of any medals, points, and prizes.

Among the results Crater has been disqualified from is a US masters national championship in the 30-34 road race earned on August 4, 2010.

Crater is a former professional cyclist and has raced the 2010 season with the Aerocat Cycling Team.