Reefer madness, but in a good way – The NCAA is raising the allowable THC limit for collegiate athletes

The National Collegiate Athletics Association will relax marijuana drug testing guidelines for student athletes

Pot is no longer considered a performance-enhancing drug

Late last February, the National Collegiate Athletics Association announced that they were relaxing their cannabis drug testing guidelines for student athletes.

During its meeting, the Committee on the Protection of Competition and Medical Aspects of Sport (CSMAS) decided that the threshold for positive drug screening results would be increased from 35 nanograms per milliliter to 150 nanograms per milliliter of THC. These changes took effect immediately.

“The overhaul of the NCAA approach to cannabis testing and management is consistent with member feedback on how to better support and educate student-athletes in a society with rapidly evolving public health and cultural views regarding cannabis use,” said Brian Hainline, chief medical officer for the NCAA, in a press release.

“Marijuana is not considered a performance-enhancing substance, but it remains important for member schools to engage student-athletes in drug prevention and provide management and support where appropriate,” says Hainline.

Applications to the NCAA divisions

The NCAA has three divisions in over 1,000 schools across the United States, and the committee’s recommendations are not binding. However, they urged all divisions to adapt accordingly to the recommendations.

Her decision is evidence that American sport is already seriously considering the impact of cannabis use on athletes and is adapting to changing laws and attitudes across the country.

If a student-athlete tests positive for THC on first test, the CSMAS recommends that they should not be at risk of losing their eligibility status if “the school provides a management plan and training for the student-athlete.” This also applies to the second positive test, but there are penalties if the athlete does not follow the recommendations, then he faces a suspension of 25% of the regular season games.

On the third positive test, they still do not risk losing eligibility unless the athlete has not followed previous training and management recommendations. Should this occur, CSMAS recommends that the athlete face a 50% suspension from regular season games.

Current division bylaws state that positive drug tests immediately disqualify the athlete from 50% of regular season games, while a second positive test would ban them for an entire season.

“These adjustments to the NCAA drug testing program were approved after careful consideration and extensive discussion of the recommendations of the Subcommittee on Drug Testing, which met last fall,” said CSMAS Chair Stephanie Chu. “The updated cannabis testing guidelines create a clear pathway for student-athletes to participate in educational and management programs specifically tailored to their needs at the campus level.”

Great strides in sports marijuana law reform

What the NCAA is doing is a prime example of how sports organizations and professional athletes are changing their attitudes towards marijuana.

We cannot deny that professional athletes benefit from cannabis use and allowing them to use it needs to be discussed, especially given the many benefits they see. Last summer, Sha’Carri Richardson’s suspension from the Olympics for her positive THC drug test reignited those discussions. Then there was the case of Kamila Valieva, a Russian figure skater who was allowed to compete in the Olympics despite testing positive.

As early as 2020, the National Football League (NFL) began taking steps to adapt to cannabis’ new status as legalization spread like wildfire across the country. On March 15, 2020, they made significant changes to the 10-year employment contract between the organization and its players, and among the notable adjustments was the relaxation of the rules governing player marijuana use.

Then, in October 2021, the National Basketball Association (NBA) announced that it would no longer randomly test players for cannabis this season. “We have agreed with the NBPA to extend the suspension of random testing for marijuana for the 2021-2022 season and to focus our random testing program on performance-enhancing products and drugs of abuse,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said last year.

Before all of this, athletes have always been penalized for using cannabis throughout history. There have been dozens of high-profile cases that made headlines around the world as athletes were criminalized and penalized simply for using cannabis, even if it was just to help them recover from sport or cope with personal stress. Reflecting changing opinions across the country, the way professional sports are responding to cannabis use is thankfully moving in a positive direction.

More people are being educated on the benefits of cannabis every year, and this is reflected in how employer regulations are changing.

We are seeing tremendous progress and no longer punishing athletes harshly for using cannabis. Sports leagues and teams see the benefits in this, as easing restrictions while promoting the benefits of cannabis use by athletes is a move that can only help them succeed, rather than the opposite. After all, cannabis is extremely beneficial for athletes whose bodies suffer from extreme stress due to training. Muscle wear, pain and inflammation are just a few of the many things athletes have to deal with as part of their profession, but why should they be forced to use traditional pain management methods such as NSAIDs, which are notorious for their health risks and side effects?

Cannabis is legal, safe and widely available today. There should be no reason why athletes need to be stigmatized while the rest of the population is allowed to use it. Cannabis can effectively reduce pain and inflammation and improve sleep quality for everyone without all of the harmful side effects of painkillers and opioid drugs. Let athletes consume cannabis!

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