14 DAY TRIAL // A couple of days ago, the news that a sports supplement dubbed Craze contained a synthetic drug similar to methamphetamine made headlines, all thanks to a paper published in the journal Drug Testing and Analysis on October 14.
It turns out that such reports have been circulating for several months, and that Driven Sports, the company that manufactures and markets this sports supplement, has been well aware of their existence for quite a while.
Hence the fact that it has suspended the production and sale of Craze.
“Driven Sports suspended the production and sale of Craze several months ago while it investigated the reports in the media regarding the safety of Craze,” Driven Sports explains in a press release issued on October 15.
Despite having suspended the production and sale of Craze, the company maintains that it has also carried out several investigations, and could not find any evidence to back up the claims that this sports supplement might constitute a threat to public health.
“Driven Sports, the manufacturer of Craze, has extensively studied and analyzed Craze with the assistance of a DEA registered laboratory and those studies have consistently indicated that Craze does not contain amphetamines or controlled substances,” the company details in the press release.
According to Driven Sports, what researchers mistook for a potentially dangerous meth-like drug is actually a compound known as N-β DEPEA. Although related to N,α- DEPEA, this substance is perfectly safe.
“Extensive analytical work by a DEA registered lab in Michigan and a Swedish laboratory retained by Driven Sports indicate the presence of N-β DEPEA in CRAZE. This is a related but very different substance from the one identified by NSF,” Driven Sports says.
“It is also very difficult to distinguish these two substances unless you know precisely what you are looking for and are using the proper test methodology,” it adds.
Despite being confident that “Craze” does not contain potentially harmful substances, Driven Sports has decided not to allow retailers to market this sports supplement until all doubts are cleared.
“While we continue to have no reason to believe that the Craze formula is anything but safe and effective when used responsibly, the confidence of our retailers to sell the product and our consumers to buy the product is our primary concern so we will continue the suspension of the production and sale of Craze for the foreseeable future until these issues are resolved,” the company explains.