After months of deliberations, the Nevada State Athletic Commission is throwing the book at fighters who fail drug tests.

The influential commission today voted for sweeping changes to its drug policy, drastically increasing administrative punishments for those found to have used banned substances.

Among the new guidelines, the minimum suspension for steroid offenders will be three years for a first offense and a fine of 40-50 percent of a fight purse. A third offense will result in a lifetime ban.

Any positive drug test will also overturn a win to a loss, rather than a no-contest, according to the new guidelines, which take effect Sept. 1.

The NSAC in January appointed a committee to evaluate changes to the way it conducts drug testing and how it treats drug offenders. The commission was embroiled in controversy when it was unable to punish now-former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones prior to UFC 182 despite finding cocaine metabolites in his system.

At a meeting today in Las Vegas, commission members took a severe stance against drug offenders in a memo outlining new guidelines for suspensions and fines, some of which were amended during deliberations. For example, the memo recommended a two-year suspension for first-time steroid offenders, but commissioners voted for a three-year suspension.

The guidelines separated potential punishments by drug type. According to ESPN, they include:

Steroids:

Three years and 50-70 percent of purse for first offense Four years and 75-100 percent of purse for second offense Lifetime ban and 100 percent of purse for third offense

Stimulants:

Two years and 35-45 percent of purse for first offense Three years and 50-60 percent of purse for second offense Lifetime ban and 100 percent of purse for third offense

Diuretics:

Two years and 30-40 percent of purse for first offense Three years and 40-50 percent of purse for second offense Lifetime ban and 100 percent of purse for third offense

Sedatives, muscle relaxants, sleep aids, anxiolytics, opiates and cannabis/marijuana

18 months and 30-40 percent of purse for first offense Two years and 40-50 percent of purse for second offense Three years and 60-75 percent of purse for third offense Lifetime ban and 100 percent of purse for four offense

As the memo and commission stressed, punishments will still be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and the guidelines do not necessarily represent mandatory terms.

MMAjunkie will have more notes from this meeting in a future update.