On December 4, 2020, the Resolution of November 25, 2020, from the Presidency of the Higher Sports Council, approving the list of prohibited substances and methods in sport 2021, was published in the Official State Gazette.

The list of prohibited substances and methods is one of the International Standards that must be complied with by all sports organizations that are signatories to the World Anti-Doping Code.

The Prohibited List includes those prohibited substances and methods that are considered doping and are prohibited at all times (both during competition and out of competition).

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is responsible for the preparation and publication of the List of prohibited substances and methods which is reviewed at least once a year and published in October of each year. The Prohibited List comes into effect three months after its publication by WADA, coinciding with the beginning of each year (January 1). In the case of Spain, the list is incorporated into our national legislation by publishing it in the BOE.

The 2021 List has been redesigned to improve its understanding, navigation, and functionality for athletes, coaches, and athlete support staff. The main changes to the 2021 List of Prohibited Substances and Methods are:

. Substances of abuse: a new category of substances described in Article 4.2.3 of the CMA as those “prohibited substances that are specifically listed as such in the Prohibited List because they are frequently abused in society in contexts other than sport.” The substances of abuse included are: cocaine, diamorphine (heroin), methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA/“ecstasy”), and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, the main psychoactive constituent of cannabis). Other substances that could be categorized as substances of abuse in the future are currently under review.

. Prohibited Method M2.2: Chemical and Physical Manipulation. According to Article 4.4.2, recently introduced in the 2021 World Anti-Doping Regulations, it is now possible to identify a prohibited method as “specific.” Consequently, intravenous infusions and/or injections totaling more than 100 mL every 12 hours are classified as specific methods, except for those legitimately received during hospital treatment. This means that an athlete may have their sanction reduced if it can be demonstrated that the method was not used for doping purposes.

. Beta-2 agonists: Inhaled vilanterol is now permitted up to the maximum dose recommended in the manufacturer's product information. The dose is expressed as a metered dose of 25 micrograms equivalent to a delivered dose of 22 micrograms.

. The WADA Executive Committee approved at its meeting of September 14-15, 2020, a ban on all injectable routes of administration of glucocorticoids in competition. Examples of injectable routes of administration include: intra-articular, intrabursal, intradermal, intralesional (e.g., intrakeloid), intramuscular, intratendinous, intrathecal, intravenous, epidural, periarticular, peritendinous, and subcutaneous.

However, in order to communicate the rule changes comprehensively and widely and to allow sufficient time to inform and educate about these changes, the Executive Committee decided to introduce the ban on all routes of injectable glucocorticoids and the application of the new rules from 1 January 2022.

. Within the monitoring program, any combination of beta-2 agonists has been removed after obtaining the required prevalence data. Results for salmeterol and vilanterol below the minimum reporting level have been included in the monitoring program to better compare their therapeutic use against the risk of abuse.

. Some nomenclatures have been clarified and some examples of prohibited substances have been added for better understanding.

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