Joines tested positive for carboxylic acid metabolite of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (at a concentration greater than 15 ng/ml) at the 2007 IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup in Aspen, USA, on 17 January 2007. The substance is included in the 2007 Prohibited List and consequently prohibited under the IPC Anti-Doping Code, which has adopted the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC).
According to Article 3.1 of the IPC Anti-Doping Code, it is each athlete's personal duty to ensure that no Prohibited Substances enters his or her body. Furthermore, each athlete is responsible for any Prohibited Substances found in their bodily specimen, regardless of how it entered their body.
In accordance with the IPC Anti-Doping Code (Article 9.8), and after an expedited hearing of the IPC Anti-Doping Committee, the IPC ratified the decision to impose a sanction of nine months ineligibility on the athlete as a result of this offence being her first anti-doping rule violation, commencing 17 January 2007, the day of the violation.
According to the IPC Anti-Doping Code (Article 12.1 and 12.7), all individual results obtained at the 2007 IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup and thereafter shall be disqualified. This includes the forfeit of any medals, points and prizes.
This ruling is in accordance with the IPC Anti-Doping Code. As a signatory of the WADC, the IPC remains committed to a doping free sporting environment at all levels. The IPC, together with the International Federations and the National Paralympic Committees, established the IPC Anti-Doping Code (January 2004) to prevent, in the spirit of fair play, doping in sport for athletes with a disability and in conformity with the general principles of the WADC.