Arbitrator suspends World champ Warren for two years

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced today that an independent arbitrator from the American Arbitration Association (AAA)/North American Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has ruled that Joe Warren of Colorado Springs, an athlete in the sport of Greco-Roman wrestling, committed a second anti-doping rule violation. Warren received a two-year suspension.

Warren, 31, tested positive for metabolites of cannabis or tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) at the Senior World Team Trials on June 10, 2007. Cannabinoids are listed as "specified substances" and are prohibited under the USADA Protocol and the rules of the Federation Internationale des Luttes Associees (FILA), both of which have adopted the World Anti-Doping Code and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List. Cannabinoids are listed as "specified substances" because they are less likely to be abused as doping agents.

Warren's two-year period of ineligibility begins July 23, 2007, the date of his acceptance of a provisional suspension. As a result of the doping violation, Warren has been disqualified from his event results at the Senior World Team Trials, including his first-place finish in the Seniors 60 kg division. USA Wrestling, the governing body for the sport in the United States, will carry out the sanction.

The AAA/CAS decision can be found on USADA's Web site HERE.

USADA is responsible for the testing and results management process for athletes in the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement. USADA is equally dedicated to preserving the integrity of sport through research initiatives and educational programs.