Another unfortunate mix up causes 'unintentional' doping

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/52355910

How many times have you walked out of a pharmacy after picking up a prescription to find out that wasn't your prescription at all? And you wouldn't check the box, the instructions, the type of medication, the strength? No most of us just knock back what we're given no questions asked.

Where was this pharmacy? This is serious malpractice surely (thinking of the consequences of any seriously ill person not taking critical meds and instead taking something random by mistake).

I think World Rugby have gone about this correctly as if there was no ban at all then every doper out there could just say the chemist gave them the wrong bag.

Clear the pharmachist that dispensed the wrong meds needs to have a review done and could be looking at some form of action frmo the medical council for the error.

It's also a reminder to everyone that you should always check what you've been given and always read the label!

You'd be surprised how often it happens.
Mrs IL used to manage a sheltered housing scheme and there were lots of occasions where the residents would be given the wrong tablets - prescriptions for people for the adjacent flat, a husband being given his wife's drugs or for tablets for Flat 7 instead of Flat 17, etc.

We don't know if the things He took were for the sickness he had.  If you have a medical condition there could be 10 different drugs to treat each with different things in them.

If you doc writes the prescription you rarely look at the prescription and then what you get.  If you have a rash you look at the magician you are given and see how to take it.  You might look that it treats a rash but that would be about it

I also would be surprised if he was the only James Cronin at the pharmacy as both are common names in Ireland

Ignorance cannot be used as excuse otherwise the system would be abused to high heaven. This was probably an honest mistake, but bans are required regardless.

With somebody playing at a relatively high level it is their responsibility to ensure that all meds are checked. The number of players that feign ignorance after the event is all over the news on a regular basis.

I shudder to think of all the games that teams have lost because players were accidentally given the wrong medication that was detrimental to their performance levels.

Honest medication mix ups must happen both ways, correct? How many sub-par performances have been down to this?

As I and others have said before that most professional athletes seem to suffer from more medical conditions than the average person, and it's amazing that they are able to do sport with having to medicine for this ailment and that sickness.