Jakarta, 14 March 2026
On March 12th, 2026, IADO submitted an official letter to the Head of the National Narcotics Agency (BNN). The letter was a follow-up to a meeting between the IADO Executive Management and the BNN Executive Management on November 11th, 2024, at the BNN Headquarters. At that time, the IADO informed the BNN of an athlete who had won a championship at the 2024 National Sports Games (PON) in Medan. However, his sample was collected by an IADO DCO and then was joined to dozens of samples obtained by DCOs on duty at the 2024 PON. It was immediately sent to the anti-doping laboratory in Bangkok. Approximately 21 days later, a report was received from Bangkok indicating that several athletes had used prohibited substances, including one athlete who was suspected of using narcotics as stipulated in Law No. 35 of 2009 concerning Narcotics.
Although according to the provisions stipulated in Article 7 and Article 8 of the World Anti-Doping Code, the follow-up process for a report was quite long, namely there should be a correspondence process, hearing (trial), delivery of decisions and or an appeal process (if there was an appeal), so even though IADO according to Article 104, Article 105, Article 106 and Article 107 of the Narcotics Law is required to submit its report to the BNN, IADO kindly asked the BNN to be patient in not immediately processing and announcing it to the public until IADO completed its legal process. Since IADO only announced most of the names of athletes whose sanctions status can be announced according to the provisions due to doping on March 11th, 2026, on March 12th, 2026 IADO immediately sent an official letter of notification regarding the names of athletes suspected of using narcotics. Now the process of resolving the problem of violations of narcotics use by an athlete is at the BNN.
The case of an athlete from a particular sport who competed in the 2024 National Sports Games (PON) and was found to have used not only prohibited substances (doping) but also narcotics (the substances were phentamine and amphetamine). This served as a lesson for other athletes, explaining that it is time to become more aware of the dangers of using prohibited substances, especially narcotics, as this can be a very lengthy matter. For the information, there are a number of prohibited substances that can also be categorized as narcotics in Indonesia, such as stimulants (amphetamines and cocaine) and narcotics (morphine and heroin) used to unfairly enhance physical performance, reduce pain, and overcome fatigue. These are strictly prohibited in sport due to serious health risks and unfair competition, with a list of substances strictly regulated by WADA. Here are key points regarding narcotic doping:
- Purpose of use: Athletes use these substances to stimulate the nervous system (increase alertness/aggression) or relieve pain/fatigue.
- Types of narcotic doping substances: stimulant group: amphetamines, cocaine, caffeine, and ephedrine; narcotic group: morphine, codeine, heroin (diamorphine), methadone; and cannabinoid group: marijuana (cannabis).
- Health Impacts: use of these substances carries a high risk of dependence, heart problems, and even death.
Specifically, the illicit substance (related to narcotics) used by athletes is amphetamine in sports competitions to reduce fatigue, improve response time, increase alertness, and increase aggression. There are four mechanisms by which amphetamines enhance performance, as follows:
- Increasing the release of neurotransmitters such as noradrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin.
- Inhibiting neurotransmitter uptake.
- Acting directly on neurotransmitter receptors.
- Inhibiting monoamine oxidase activity.
Potential side effects of amphetamine use include dependence, tremors, insomnia, and increased aggression, which can be dangerous. Effects on the cardiovascular system can be fatal. An increase in body temperature occurs because amphetamines can cause redistribution of blood flow to the skin, which inhibits heat loss. Long-term use can affect the psyche, leading to paranoid schizophrenia.