Members of a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) panel say that marijuana use by athletes violates the \u201cspirit of sport,\u201d making them unfit role models whose potential impairment could put others at risk.<\/p>\n
In an editorial published in the journal Addiction, several members of WADA\u2019s Prohibited List Expert Advisory Group summarized the reasons that the body decided to continue prohibiting cannabis use by athletes in competitions<\/a> last year amid growing calls to end the policy.<\/p>\n Perspectives were \u201cmixed\u201d over whether marijuana \u201cenhances or has the potential to enhance sport performance,\u201d they wrote. And the group also acknowledged that athletes have reported that cannabis benefits them by \u201cfacilitating recovery and reducing pain.\u201d<\/p>\n But in the end, they said that the use of marijuana in competitions violates ethical standards, justifying the ban.<\/p>\n Specifically, the editorial says that cannabis consumption runs counter to the \u201cspirit of sport,\u201d which \u201cencompasses a number of universal values of sport, and four aspects that were particularly relevant to the discussion on cannabis remaining in the list.\u201d<\/p>\n Here are the factors that the WADA officials said apply to marijuana, quoted directly from their paper:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The group also said there was considerable agreement within WADA about another criterion for inclusion in the banned substances list which concerns \u201cactual or potential risk to the health of the athlete.\u201d<\/p>\n They said that marijuana can cause physical impairment, as well as possible psychiatric symptoms, and that its use during adolescence can inhibit cognitive development. Members determined that the \u201cpotential of cannabis use to compromise the health and safety of the athlete qualifies the application of this criterion.\u201d<\/p>\n While WADA decided to maintain the marijuana ban following a year-long review around this time last year, the editorial points out that the international organization had made other cannabis reforms<\/a>, including raising the amount of THC that can be present in an athlete\u2019s urine to account for consumption outside of competitions, which is not prohibited under its rules.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause of these high thresholds, primarily chronic, frequent cannabis users and athletes consuming high doses in-competition will be detected. Therefore, the cut-off generally will not affect the freedom of an athlete who wishes to legally consume cannabis outside of competition,\u201d the group said<\/a>. \u201cAthletes who have a need for medicinal cannabis treatment should request a therapeutic use exemption.\u201d<\/p>\n Advocates strongly urged WADA to enact a reform after\u00a0U.S. runner Sha\u2019Carri Richardson was suspended<\/a> from participating in Olympics events due to a positive THC test in 2021.<\/p>\n Following that suspension, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) said that the international rules on marijuana \u201cmust change,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0the White House and\u00a0President Joe Biden himself signaled<\/a>\u00a0that it was time for new policies<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0congressional lawmakers amplified that message<\/a>.<\/p>\n A WADA spokesperson said last year that, \u201cto date neither the United States authorities nor the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has requested the removal of cannabis from the Prohibited List.\u201d<\/p>\n But USADA CEO Travis Tygart seemed to dispute that point. He said that, for decades, the organization \u201chas advocated for WADA to change its approach to marijuana so a positive test is not a violation unless it was intentionally used to enhance performance or endangers the health or safety of competitors.\u201d<\/p>\n USADA had previously expressed sympathy for the suspended runner, Richardson, and indicated that it\u00a0may be time for a reevaluation of the marijuana prohibition<\/a>\u2014but it later followed up with a statement that went further by explicitly calling for a policy change.<\/p>\n The organization wrote that \u201cPresident Joe Biden described the way forward best when he said\u201d that the \u201crules are rules,\u201d\u00a0but stating that those regulations may need to be reevaluated<\/a>.<\/p>\n As more states have moved to legalize cannabis, sports organizations at multiple levels have worked to enact reform.<\/p>\n For example, the National Basketball Association (NBA) and its players union\u00a0recently signed a collective bargaining agreement<\/a>\u00a0that removes marijuana from the league\u2019s banned substances list and lays out rules allowing players to invest in and promote cannabis brands\u2014with certain exceptions.<\/p>\n The National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) committee focused on promoting health and wellness for student athletes\u00a0has proposed to remove marijuana<\/a>\u00a0from the organization\u2019s banned substances list.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, Nevada sports regulators voted to\u00a0send a proposed regulatory amendment to the governor<\/a>\u00a0that would formally protect athletes from\u00a0being penalized over using or possessing marijuana<\/a>\u00a0in compliance with state law.<\/p>\n UFC announced in 2021 that they would no longer be punishing fighters over positive marijuana tests.<\/p>\n The National Football League\u2019s (NFL)\u00a0drug testing policy changed demonstrably<\/a>\u00a0in 2020 as part of a collective bargaining agreement.<\/p>\n NFL and its players union also announced in June that they are jointly awarding another round of funding<\/a>\u00a0to support independent research on the therapeutic benefits of CBD as a pain treatment alternative to opioids for players with concussions.<\/p>\n The New York Media Softball League (NYMSL)\u2014which has teams representing The Wall Street Journal, High Times and BuzzFeed among its ranks\u2014announced in July that it was launching a sponsorship deal with a Kentucky-based CBD company<\/a>.<\/p>\n The idea behind the collaboration was\u00a0inspired by moves by Major League Baseball (MLB) and certain teams<\/a>\u00a0like the Kansas City Royals and Chicago Cubs that have\u00a0also recently partnered with CBD businesses<\/a>.<\/p>\n MLB itself announced its league-wide\u00a0partnership with a popular CBD brand last year<\/a>. Charlotte\u2019s Web Holdings, one of the most recognizable hemp-derived CBD companies in the country, signed the deal with league to become the \u201cOfficial CBD of MLB.\u201d<\/p>\n Top Alcohol Industry Association Gives Congress Advice On Regulating Hemp Derivatives Such As CBD And Delta-8 THC<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Martin Alonso<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post World Anti-Doping Agency Experts Say Marijuana Use Violates The \u2018Spirit Of Sport\u2019 And Makes Athletes Unfit Role Models<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Members of a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) panel say that marijuana use by athletes violates the \u201cspirit of sport,\u201d making them unfit role models whose potential impairment could put others at risk. In an editorial published in the journal Addiction, several members of WADA\u2019s Prohibited List Expert Advisory Group summarizedContinue 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\/67942"}],"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=67942"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67942\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67943,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67942\/revisions\/67943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: World Anti-Doping Agency Experts Say Marijuana Use Violates The \u2018Spirit Of Sport\u2019 And Makes Athletes Unfit Role Models<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"