--- description: The banned substances include cocaine, marijuana, and Adderall. title: Here Are The Drugs You Can't Use in Professional Gaming image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Here Are The Drugs You Can't Use in Professional Gaming  by [Tanya Basu](/author/tanya-basu/)  ## Tanya Basu Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 12, 2015 10:59 PM CUT  by [Tanya Basu](/author/tanya-basu/)  ## Tanya Basu Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 12, 2015 10:59 PM CUT The Electronic Sports League (ESL) on Wednesday revealed the full list of drugs it will ban for gaming competitions . “As the world’s largest and oldest esports organization, ESL has an ongoing commitment to safeguarding both the integrity of our competitions and that of esports as a whole—we wish to ensure we can provide a fair playing field for all participating players,” Ella McConnell, senior editor of ESLGaming, [wrote](http://www.eslgaming.com/news/esl-leads-anti-ped-initiative-esports-support-nada-2170 "undefined") in a statement. ESL is [working with the World Anti-Doping Agency](http://list.wada-ama.org/ "undefined") to choose which drugs are prohibited. The [current list](http://list.wada-ama.org/ "undefined") includes everything from cocaine to steroids to ADHD medication Adderall. Those with legitimate medical reasons for taking Adderall will [need proof from a physician](https://www.reddit.com/r/GlobalOffensive/comments/3gmog8/esl%5Fannounces%5Fdetails%5Fof%5Fthe%5Fantidoping%5Fpolicy/ "undefined"). This follows the ESL’s announcement last month that [professional gamers would be tested for performance enhancing drugs](http://time.com/3970308/video-game-test-esl-drug-doping/ "undefined"), after one player [confessed](http://www.pcgamer.com/esl-preparing-new-anti-doping-rules-following-katowice-adderall-controversy/ "undefined") to using the ADHD medication to gain an advantage. As the ESL becomes increasingly popular and prizes get larger, “temptation of rule-breaking \[becomes\] even greater,” McConnell wrote. Testing will begin for the first time at the ESL One Cologne this August via skin tests. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3995194/esl-drug-ban-list/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3995194/esl-drug-ban-list/"},"headline":"Here Are The Drugs You Can't Use in Professional Gaming","datePublished":"2015-08-12T22:59:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:06:22.112Z","description":"The ban is effective immediately","url":"https://time.com/3995194/esl-drug-ban-list/","keywords":["Tech","Marijuana","Drugs","Video Games","Cocaine"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tanya Basu","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tanya-basu/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3995194/esl-drug-ban-list/","name":"Here Are The Drugs You Can't Use in Professional Gaming"}}]}] ```