BERMUDA is one of the world's leaders in the fight to keep recreational drugs out of sport.

So said Casey Wade, the director of education and planning of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

While most larger countries like the United States and Canada mainly put the spotlight on catching athletes using performance enhancing drugs, Bermuda usually only tests its athletes for drugs such as cannabis and cocaine although some test samples for elite athletes are sent to the Olympic lab in Montreal to test for performance enhancing drugs.

Wade, who arrives in Bermuda this week to be the keynote speaker at Saturday's Annual Sports Conference, said from Montreal: "I think you have a really unique mix with your policy and programme to deal with both issues (performance enhancing drugs and recreational drugs). Bermuda is one of the few countries that does that and I personally commend the island of Bermuda. It is a unique model that can work well in other countries."

But Wade also said Bermuda had to carefully think about the consequences of finding a recreational athlete guilty of using drugs such as cannabis.

"The dilemma is what are the consequences of those positive findings ? should the person have a minimum penalty? Should they go to rehab? Certainly if someone tests positive (for cannabis or cocaine) they are automatically banned from competing for the country. On the one hand you want reasonable sanctions ? you want to clean up the sport but you also want to keep people involved in sport."

Wade said he felt that opponents of Bermuda's recreational drug policy are people who are "not so much opposed to the fact that they were testing for (cannabis) but who are opposed to having people getting kicked out of the sport for a year when they are only competing recreationally."

He said: "So you have to look at the consequences. You have to try and help people get over a (drug) problem. We want to make sport healthier but it needs a balance. Sport can be a wonderful thing to keep kids away from drugs but what happens when you kick those kids out of the sport? It may create an even worse situation ? so looking at those kinds of things are quite valid."

Wade was in fact one of the people who helped establish Bermuda's anti-drug policy in sport. His parents lived here for 10 years and he reckons that his visit to the Island this weekend will be his 46th. "It is my home away from home," he said.

"I helped establish the policy in Bermuda. It is a unique programme which combines the international anti-doping programme and also deals with illicit or what some call recreational drugs in sport. Bermuda has a responsible approach ? they want to clean up sport and but also want to keep people involved in sport."

One of the reasons why tests done in Bermuda do not include performance enhancing drugs is because the Island does not have the facilities to test for the scores of those drugs on WADA's prohibited list. The Island must send the samples to the Olympic lab in Montreal. And it is a process which can prove to be very expensive.

Wade said a partial test for performance enhancing drugs can cost between $120 and $180 and the "full menu" can cost about $250.

Asked if it would be embarrassing if a Bermuda athlete, who was only tested for recreational drugs on the Island, then went overseas for a competition and was tested and found to have taken performance enhancing drugs, Wade said: "I don't think that it would be viewed as embarrassing but rather an unfortunate consequence of (Bermuda's) testing programme. But I think that when you are dealing with elite athletes they will be tested with a partial or full menu."

While Bermuda has been testing recreational athletes for drugs such as cannabis for a number of years, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) announced that they came into line with the new provisions of WADA at the beginning of the year which requires testing for cannabinoids ? but only in competition.

The CCES said it had received numerous inquiries surrounding the following two issues:The rationale for the inclusion of cannabinoids on the 2004 WADA prohibited list, and;The impact of this revision on the Canadian domestic doping control programme.

A spokesperson for CCES said: "In response to the first concern, the decision by WADA to include cannabinoids on the 2004 prohibited list was not made lightly. WADA developed an expert committee to review the 2003 prohibited list of substances and to recommend revisions for the 2004 prohibited list of substances. This expert committee consulted globally with international sport federations, national anti-doping organisations, the International Olympic Committee, national Olympic committees, and governments. Based on this extensive consultation process, WADA made the decision to include Cannabinoids on the 2004 prohibited list.

Wade said he will meet many people from Bermuda's sporting organisations while on the Island this weekend and his keynote speech will touch on a number of subjects.

"I want to give an overview of the (WADA) organisation and the (anti-drug) code and some things that we are doing in terms of leadership and coordination at the national and international levels. I want people to look at the code and see what it means to Bermuda ? what changes may be needed."