A positive marijuana test cost star U.S. runner Sha\u2019Carri Richardson a shot at a key Olympic race this month. And now the nation\u2019s governing body on track and field is saying international policy on cannabis punishments athletes \u201cshould be reevaluated.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new statement from USA Track & Field (USATF) comes shortly after Team USA declined to place Richardson in another event, the 4\u00d7100 relay, that would have fallen outside of the 30-day probationary period imposed by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a move that advocates view as unnecessarily punitive, and USATF seems to agree that policies need to change, even if it\u2019s currently unwilling to amend its own internal rules to make an exception in this case.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst and foremost, we are incredibly sympathetic toward Sha\u2019Carri Richardson\u2019s extenuating circumstances and strongly applaud her accountability\u2014and will offer her our continued support both on and off the track,\u201d USATF said. \u201cWhile USATF fully agrees that the merit of the World Anti-Doping Agency rules related to THC should be reevaluated, it would be detrimental to the integrity of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Track & Field if USATF amended its policies following competition, only weeks before the Olympic Games.\u201d<\/p>\n
While that won\u2019t change circumstances for Richardson\u2014who admitted to using cannabis in a legal state after learning about the death of her biological mother\u2014it\u2019s a significant statement that echoes calls from fans, advocates and lawmakers alike who have condemned the suspension.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll USATF athletes are equally aware of and must adhere to the current anti-doping code, and our credibility as the National Governing Body would be lost if rules were only enforced under certain circumstances,\u201d USATF said<\/a>. \u201cSo while our heartfelt understanding lies with Sha\u2019Carri, we must also maintain fairness for all of the athletes who attempted to realize their dreams by securing a place on the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team.\u201d<\/p>\n In a sense, the governing body is reflecting a position that President Joe Biden articulated on Saturday. He said that while \u201crules are rules,\u201d he also suggested that there\u2019s an open question about\u00a0whether \u201cthey should remain the rules.\u201d<\/a> And that\u2019s notable for a president who has maintained an opposition to adult-use legalization.<\/p>\n White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki previously declined to condemn Olympics officials\u2019 sanction<\/a>\u00a0on Richardson when asked about the issue at a briefing with reporters.<\/p>\n A bipartisan group of members of Congress slammed Richardson\u2019s punishment last week, with leaders of a key House subcommittee sending a scathing letter to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and the Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), urging the bodies to \u201dstrike a blow for civil liberties and civil rights by reversing this course you are on.\u201d<\/p>\n Advocates have broadly embraced internal marijuana policy reforms at other major professional athletic organizations, arguing that they are long overdue especially given the ever-expanding legalization movement.<\/p>\n NFL\u2019s\u00a0drug testing policy changed demonstrably<\/a>\u00a0last year as part of a collective bargaining agreement, for example. Under the policy, NFL players will not face the possibility of being suspended from games over positive tests for any drug\u2014not just marijuana.<\/p>\n In a similar vein, the MLB decided in 2019 to\u00a0remove cannabis from the league\u2019s list of banned substances<\/a>. Baseball players can consume marijuana without risk of discipline, but officials clarified last year that\u00a0they can\u2019t work while under the influence<\/a>\u00a0and can\u2019t enter into sponsorship contracts with cannabis businesses, at least for the time being.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, a temporary NBA policy\u00a0not to randomly drug test players for marijuana<\/a>\u00a0amid the coronavirus pandemic may soon become permanent, the league\u2019s top official said in December. Rather than mandate blanket tests, Commissioner Adam Silver said the league would be reaching out to players who show signs of problematic dependency,\u00a0not those who are \u201cusing marijuana casually.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n For what it\u2019s worth, a new poll from YouGov found that women are notably more likely to oppose Richardson\u2019s suspension<\/a> than men are.<\/p>\n Marijuana Industry \u2018Will Continue To Grow,\u2019 Federal Economic Panel Says While Recommending Classification Changes<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Jurassic Blueberries<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The post USA Track And Field Team Says Marijuana Punishments \u2018Should Be Reevaluated\u2019 Following Richardson Suspension<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A positive marijuana test cost star U.S. runner Sha\u2019Carri Richardson a shot at a key Olympic race this month. And now the nation\u2019s governing body on track and field is saying international policy on cannabis punishments athletes \u201cshould be reevaluated.\u201d The new statement from USA Track & Field (USATF) comesContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[99,18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48695"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48695"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48695\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48696,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48695\/revisions\/48696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: USA Track And Field Team Says Marijuana Punishments \u2018Should Be Reevaluated\u2019 Following Richardson Suspension<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"