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MLB Pitchers Death Sparks Drug Testing Questions

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball and the players' association will discuss the possibility of more widespread testing for opioids following the death of Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs.

 

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim v Toronto Blue Jays
TORONTO, ON - JUNE 18: Tyler Skaggs #45 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim delivers a pitch in the first inning during a MLB game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on June 18, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images
Skaggs was found dead in his hotel room in the Dallas area July 1 before the start of a series against the Texas Rangers. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office said the 27-year-old died after choking on his vomit with a toxic mix of alcohol and the painkillers fentanyl and oxycodone in his body.
Oakland Athletics v Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 06: Tyler Skaggs #45 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim pitches during the first inning of a game against the Oakland Athleticsat Angel Stadium of Anaheim on June 06, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
A toxicology report said his blood alcohol concentration was 0.122%, well above Texas's alcohol limit of 0.08% for driving, and 3.8 nanograms per milliliter of fentanyl.
Players on 40-man rosters are tested for drugs of abuse such as opioids only if the player-management joint treatment board finds reasonable cause, if a player has been found to have used or possessed a drug of abuse, or if a player is subjected to testing under a treatment program. All players on 40-man rosters are subject to testing for banned performance-enhancing drugs such as steroids and for banned stimulants.
FRANCE-HEALTH-PHARMACY-PILLS-DRUG-MEDECINE
A picture taken on August 27, 2019 in Nantes, western France, shows pharmaceutical pill. (Photo by LOIC VENANCE / AFP) (Photo credit should read LOIC VENANCE/AFP/Getty Images)
"For several reasons, including the tragic loss of a member of our fraternity and other developments happening in the country as a whole, it is appropriate and important to re-examine all of our drug protocols relating to education, treatment and prevention," union head Tony Clark said in a statement Friday.
Minor leaguers not on 40-man rosters, who are not in the players' association, are subject to testing for opioids. The commissioner's office said during the last five years only 12 of 78,000 tests were positive for substances classified as opioids and opiates, a group that includes oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine and fentanyl.
A Gendarme proceeds to a saliva drug tes
A Gendarme proceeds to a saliva drug test after arresting a high-speed driver on the motorway between Paris and Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines, west of Paris, on July 18, 2011. AFP PHOTO / THOMAS SAMSON (Photo credit should read THOMAS SAMSON/AFP/Getty Images)
For unionized players, testing with penalties for performance-enhancing drugs started in 2004 and testing for stimulants began two years later.
"MLB reviews and updates its drug programs regularly, including an annual review of the joint drug program at the end of each season with the players' association," the commissioner's office said in a statement.
"This year, that review will include a thorough review of the drug of abuse aspects of our joint drug program, as well as the content and delivery of our player education programs prior to next season."
© 2019 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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