We know that professional athletes are drug tested. Do the drug test that athletes undergo test for prescription drugs?

Professional athletes are routinely drug tested. They are tested for performance enhancing substances such as steroids, and illegal drugs, such as cocaine and marijuana. The question is do drug tests given to athletes test for prescription drugs that can also be abused? The answer is yes. Drugs that are in the opiate family are tested for. These drugs include Percocet and oxycodone which are often times prescribed for pain. Since athletes push their bodies to the limit, they are injured more frequently than the normal population and require pain medications. This means that any time an athlete has to take heavy prescription medication he or she will fail a drug test. ADHD and ADD medication will also cause an athlete to fail his or test. To solve this problem since prescription medications are necessary the group doing the drug tests keeps a record of the athletes and the prescription medications they are prescribed. That way if an athlete tests positive the company can check their prescriptions and the athlete will be cleared of any wrong doing.

                                                                                    

C. K. McDermott

Source:

http://www.usada.org/prohibited-list/athlete-guide