The World Anti-Doping Agency director general David Howman has defended criticism of the organisation from British Olympic legend Daley Thompson.
Thompson accused Wada of "not taking their job seriously" over drug testing.
In an open letter on the Wada website, Howman said: "Testing is significantly more effective today than in your day.
"If you were competing today, I can guarantee that you would notice the difference. Athletes are no longer able to abuse drugs with impunity."
Thompson, who won Olympic decathlon gold at the 1980 and 1984 Games, is an avid supporter of the British Olympic Association's stance of issuing lifetime Olympic bans to athletes who have served drugs suspensions.
Wada has declared the policy "non-compliant" with its anti-doping code and the case has gone to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, with a verdict expected next Monday (12 March).
"I thought they were going to bring some clarity to the issue of drug-taking in sport," Thompson wrote in the Daily Mail. "To try to make sure that athletes and spectators weren't cheated.
"That's not what they have done. What they have done is tried to establish a consensus over punishments. They have come up with the minimum they can impose.
"I want them to be in court all the time - fighting cheats, not the BOA."