By Susan Westemeyer
Stefan Schumacher can easily explain how the doping product cathine came to be in his body: he took it in an allergy medication prescribed by his mother, Dr. Christine Schumacher. In a press conference on Thursday, his lawyer, Michael Lehner, said that the Schumachers had reason to believe that the medication was not on the list of banned substances, and that he expects the charges against his client to be dropped.
According to Lehner, Schumacher has suffered from allergies and allergic asthma since his childhood. His mother, a practicing doctor, prescribed for him the drug Antiadipositum X 112 T, which contains the substance norpseudoephedrine (cathine), a stimulant which is on the list of banned drugs. Lehner claims, however, that both Dr. Schumacher and the Shimano team doctor, Dr. Jansen, studied the list of banned medications and could not find norpseudoephedrine on that list. They allegedly also asked the Dutch Antidoping Agency (NeCeDo), which said that the drug was not forbidden. Schumacher was given the medication only after this research was completed, in the full belief that it was allowed, Lehner said.
Lehner submitted written statements from both doctors, and said that, "In this case there must be a quick acquittal. I have already asked that the case be dismissed."
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