At a time when drug testing policy in sports is under sharp, national scrutiny, Nevada sports regulators voted on Wednesday to make it so athletes will no longer be penalized over a positive marijuana test.<\/p>\n
The Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) unanimously agreed to enact the policy change, which will amend its anti-doping policy and remove the threat of suspension over cannabis use or possession for fighters. The move comes on the heels of a controversial suspension of a star sprinter from participating in the Olympics after she tested positive for marijuana.<\/p>\n
As the Nevada Independent\u2019s Zachary Bright reported<\/a>, fighters will still be barred from competing in events if they show up visibly intoxicated.<\/p>\n The motion unanimously passes.<\/p>\n \u2014 Zach Bright (@zachbright_) July 7, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n \u201cI think being the gold standard with regard to combat sports\u2014both [Mixed Martial Arts] and boxing\u2014being a world-class destination, and having our state show the leadership and the fortitude in light of some of the recently circumstances we\u2019ve all seen on television, we should be always at the forefront of these issues,\u201d Commission Chair Stephen Cloobeck said at Wednesday\u2019s meeting.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe it\u2019s warranted and merited since it is legal in this state,\u201d he said<\/a>. \u201cI think we need to jump forward being the leader as we\u2019ve always been.\u201d<\/p>\n Drug tests for marijuana will continue under the commission\u2019s policy for data collection purposes for six months\u2014without fighters being punished for positive results\u2014after which time NAC, which regulates boxing, mixed martial arts and other combat sports, will revisit whether such ongoing screening is necessary.<\/p>\n This action comes after NAC requested information from state officials about its authority to remove marijuana from the banned substances list. In a response last month, a representative from the state attorney general\u2019s office said the commission could, in fact, make the change, and it listed Nevada\u2019s marijuana legalization law as a factor the commissioner could take into account to inform further reforms.<\/p>\n \u201cNevada voters and the Nevada Legislature have approved the medical and recreational possession and use of cannabis,\u201d the memo said. \u201cThere is no longer a basis under Nevada criminal law to prohibit an unarmed combatant for using or possessing cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n U.S. Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) praised the commission\u2019s action on Wednesday.<\/p>\n \u201cAnti-marijuana laws are not only an unnecessary burden on athletes\u2019 civil liberties, but they are also rooted in our country\u2019s racist past,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m pleased to see the Nevada Athletic Commission eliminate outdated penalties for fighters testing positive for marijuana metabolites.\u201d<\/p>\n Anti-marijuana laws are not only an unnecessary burden on athletes’ civil liberties, but they are also rooted in our country’s racist past.<\/p>\n I’m pleased to see the Nevada Athletic Commission eliminate outdated penalties for fighters testing positive for marijuana metabolites.<\/p>\n \u2014 Dina Titus (@repdinatitus) July 7, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The Florida State Boxing Commission in May decided<\/a> to stop testing fighters for marijuana.<\/p>\n \u201cMarijuana is considered to be a substance of abuse and not a performance enhancing drug,\u201d Bob Bennett, executive director of NAC, said. \u201cI think our goal is to test performance enhancing drugs in an effort to ensure there\u2019s a level playing field.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s a significantly more lenient position compared to how the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) approached the recent positive marijuana test for runner Sha\u2019Carri Richardson, who lost her chance to compete in the Olympics after using cannabis in a legal state.<\/p>\n In contrast, however, USADA and UFC announced in January that they would no longer be punishing fighters over positive marijuana tests, MMA Fighting reported<\/a>. The key difference, of course, is that domestic UFC fighting isn\u2019t a part of the international Olympics and is therefore not subject to harsher WADA restrictions.<\/p>\n USA Track & Field (USATF), the nation\u2019s governing body for running, said in a statement on Tuesday<\/a> that it\u2019s currently unwilling to amend its own internal rules to make an exception in Richardson\u2019s case; however, it also said that international policy on cannabis punishments athletes \u201cshould be reevaluated.\u201d<\/p>\n In a sense, USATF 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 whether \u201cthey should remain the rules.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0And that\u2019s notable for a president who has maintained an opposition to adult-use legalization.<\/p>\n White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki previously\u00a0declined to condemn Olympics officials\u2019 sanction<\/a>\u00a0on Richardson when asked about the issue at a briefing with reporters.<\/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 Read the memo from the Nevada attorney general\u2019s office on NAC\u2019s marijuana testing policy below:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n NV marijuana testing memo<\/a> by Marijuana Moment<\/a><\/p>\n Rhode Island Governor Signs Historic Bill Legalizing Safe Consumption Sites For Illicit Drugs<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Nevada Sports Regulators Ditch Marijuana Penalties For Fighters, Days After Richardson\u2019s Olympics Suspension<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
At a time when drug testing policy in sports is under sharp, national scrutiny, Nevada sports regulators voted on Wednesday to make it so athletes will no longer be penalized over a positive marijuana test. The Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) unanimously agreed to enact the policy change, which will amendContinue 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":[99,18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48701"}],"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=48701"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48702,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48701\/revisions\/48702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n
\n
\n
\nRead More: Nevada Sports Regulators Ditch Marijuana Penalties For Fighters, Days After Richardson\u2019s Olympics Suspension<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"