Percy, there was a grace period. Meldonium was announced to be a banned substance back in September, effective January 1, by both the Russian and World Anti-Doping Agencies. Three months is plenty of time to work with your doctors about treatment plans, especially for a top-tier athlete who is working with medical professionals on a near-daily basis.
That, of course, leads to the question of why none of her doctors made mention of this. I should think that a sports professional who is subjected to random testing (where you have to tell the WADA of your daily schedule so that they can track you down to do a surprise test at any time) would be up to date on the standards for medical care such that changes to the banned drug schedule would be integrated in quickly.
Sharapova admits to having received the notice from the WADA, but claims she didn't read it. She also claims that because she was using the drug under another name (mildronate), that she didn't know that she was taking the substance that was banned.
It's sad, but she really has nobody to blame but herself. My understanding is that she is throwing herself on the mercy of the WADA, and I could understand why they might grant her a reprieve should they believe her that this was caused by confusion on her part regarding the name of the drug she was taking and what was listed on the schedule. But tennis is having a bit of scandal shock at the moment with fixing matches so there may not be too much sympathy.
Rrhain
Thank you for your submission to Science. Your paper was reviewed by a jury of seventh graders so that they could look for balance and to allow them to make up their own minds. We are sorry to say that they found your paper "bogus," specifically describing the section on the laboratory work "boring." We regret that we will be unable to publish your work at this time.
Minds are like parachutes. Just because you've lost yours doesn't mean you can use mine.