World Anti-Doping Agency wants to rethink cannabis ban

Two months after the United States’ top female sprinter was banned from the Tokyo Olympics because of a positive test for marijuana, the international agency that oversees banned substances in sport said it was ready to review its ban on cannabis.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced Tuesday that it would act upon the approval of its expert advisory group on the Prohibited List and initiate “a scientific review of the status of cannabis”. Cannabis is on WADA’s list of banned substances, and the agency said it will continue to do so in 2022.

The development follows the July suspension of Sha’Carri Richardson, who won the 100-meter run at the Olympic tests in the USA earlier this summer. Weeks before the Tokyo Games started, Richardson accepted a month-long suspension after the United States Anti-Doping Agency announced it had tested positive for cannabis.

Both the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committees follow WADA’s Prohibited Substances Code.

The suspension of Richardson, 21, has been widely criticized and ridiculed, with many observers in and outside the world of athletics pointing out the inconsistency of the marijuana ban at a time when a growing number of states in America – and even the federal government –– are moving towards the legalization of cannabis.

(The USADA’s official rationale for banning marijuana use by its athletes is that cannabis poses a health and safety risk to athletes, and that cannabis can be performance-enhancing.)

White House press secretary Jen Psaki lamented the suspension, noting that Richardson’s mother had recently passed away.

“It stinks,” Psaki said in an interview on cable news at the time. “I don’t think there is a better definition for it. She lost her mother; she went through a tragedy and she’s the fastest woman in the world too – and I think she’s sending a message to a lot of little girls out there; you can. We know the rules are where they are; Maybe we should look at them again. In any case, we must respect the role of the US Anti-Doping Agency and the US Olympic Committee and their decisions. But it’s sad. “

Other voices in politics made fun of the suspension.

“Marijuana is not a performance-enhancing drug unless you compete in the Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4th,” said Rep. Steven Cohen, a Democrat who represents the Ninth Ward of Tennessee. “To take away from her the right to appear, to take away her dream from her, is absurd.”

Cohen urged his colleagues on Capitol Hill to press ahead with cannabis reform.

“Congress should make sure that we don’t have these problems in the future. We say goodbye to marijuana. We leave it to the states. if [Richardson had] from margaritas, Red Bull or whatever you drink out there these days, roaring drunk, lager beers, she would have been fine because it wouldn’t have shown up in her system, and if it had shown up in her system – – if she were 0, 02 Had alcohol – she should still have walked, ”Cohen said.

“But for marijuana, that could have been 20 days ago, and just a puff or two, it’s gone. So let’s get real, ”he continued. “The war on drugs is a total failure. Nancy Reagan was wrong. Everyone who followed her and the others who said, “Just say no” were wrong because that wasn’t enough. Let’s pass this bill and decriminalize marijuana and get our people where they won’t be affected by the US Congress cultural delay. “

For her part, Richardson stood by her decision.

“I want to take responsibility for my actions,” said Richardson in an interview after the news of the positive test result became known. “I know what I’ve done and what I shouldn’t be doing. I know what I’m not allowed to do and I made this decision anyway. I’m not looking for an excuse or empathy in my case, but to be in this position of my life and find out something like that – something I would say has had a positive and negative impact on my life when it comes to dealing with Relationship goes with my mother – that was definitely a difficult topic for me. “