Ross Rebagliati on failing to condemn Olympic cannabis use

Olympic star Ross Rebagliati was 21 years old when he won an Olympic medal only to be taken away for marijuana use (and later returned). Rebagliati sat down with High Times Canadian correspondent and cultivator Erik Biksa ​​to share his experience, the current state of weed in professional athletics, and what it means for athletes and sports authorities.

Rebagliati became a household name with the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, when he won gold in the first ever men’s Olympic snowboarding event. Not only is he famous for winning, but he is also famous for taking it away for a positive THC test and then eventually bringing it back to him.

In some circles it can be said that he has won gold twice, because this is the only time in Olympic history that an athlete has been given a medal back after being rejected. In fact, the gold medal was returned to him while he was behind bars in Japan – just because he tested positive for a very small amount of THC in his body.

When Rebagliati won gold in 1998 and then tested positive, THC was not on the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) or IOC (International Olympic Committee) list of prohibited substances – they quickly changed that after the incident. The negative effects of this decision affect athletes all over the world to this day.

Given Sha’Carri Richardson’s recent media spotlight – not because of her blazing track times, but because of her flaming personal reasons, there has never been a more poignant time to discuss the implications and implications of recreational sports for professional athletics, and Rebagliati does exactly.

The consequences of cannabis use are severe and seemingly unjustified. The situation seems to be one of those cases where it takes a lifetime to build something and just a few seconds to take it all away. And what for? The vast majority of North Americans or even global citizens do not view cannabis use as a crime. Calling it a “performance-enhancing drug” is flimsy at best.

Courtesy Ross Rebagliati

Rebagliati on Blazing and Going for Gold

Ross Rebagliati was kind enough to find time in his busy schedule between Ross-Gold, his cannabis-related company, and his busy personal and family life, to get some firsthand insights into cannabis in professional athletics from an Olympic perspective Gold medalist and a dedicated cannabis advocate.

For people who may not fully understand what makes a person become a top athlete, can you tell us a little bit about what it is about?

RR: A huge amount of countless hours and sacrifices is only part of what goes into training and competition at the highest level. In my case, it started as a ski racer at the age of 10 before graduating to snowboard.

The year has 365 days. I spent 200 days a year in competitions and training during the snow season and an additional 50 days on top of this training during the off-season. Every waking moment in an athlete’s life flows into their sport.

As a teenager, I spent a lot of time in isolation, away from family and friends in other countries. In the beginning, athletes don’t have sponsors – they need to find ways to make ends meet, including paying for hotels, rentals, travel, etc. in addition to a serious athletic program.

Then if you climb the ranks and get some consolation from sponsors, you lose everything when you get a place on the Olympic team. It’s a level of focus and sacrifice that many people just couldn’t understand – it requires digging deeper than you ever thought possible.

After all the sacrifices, blood, sweat and tears, tell us about the good tuff that comes with reaching the Olympic podium.

It’s a bit of a college degree. Victory gives you references, but it’s up to you as a person to make something of it. Because of the victory and the circumstances that went with it, I gained a lot of fame practically overnight. For example, I appeared with Jay Leno on the Tonight Show, had Will Ferrell play me on SNL, and made guest appearances on the [Late Night with Conan O’Brien] a few times.

In my case, I met many famous people at the height of Prohibition who were open with me about their cannabis use. It can be said that as a result, I’ve burned more than one with some very famous people in my life. In 2013 I founded Ross-Gold, a cannabis-related company. In fact, we started selling premium glassware around the time Tommy Chong was released from prison after racking up bong sales in the United States.

While the majority of North Americans and even the whole world view cannabis as relatively safe or even useful, why do you suppose that WADA and the IOC have kept cannabis on their banned substance list and even declared that it was “the spirit of sport.” injured”? ?

Because the United States maintains cannabis as a List I drug. The IOC is a collective agreement between 35 countries; Many of these countries are changing very slowly, partly out of tradition and in some cases it is about “face” or about not reversing their official line of how “dangerous” a “drug” cannabis has been over the past 60 or so years.

People have been locked up, their children have been taken away, possessions have been auctioned off – the Prohibitionists are well-ingrained by corporate interests and still carry a fairly large cane. This is something they cannot hang around overnight, even when people now have clear, scientific evidence that cannabis is not dangerous.

Courtesy Ross Rebagliati

Rebagliati on the future of cannabis

Do you think WADA, the IOC, and large corporate sponsorship will soon change their position in light of public opinion and the facts surrounding cannabis and the ban?

Unfortunately, for athletes around the world like Sha’Carri, things are unlikely to change as long as the United States keeps cannabis as a List I drug. The changes made by the United Nations in the scheduling of cannabis are a step in the right direction – and see Canada as an example of the unceremonious end of the cannabis ban and a realistic approach to how we see and regulate cannabis use in a free society.

Bad rules are meant to be broken. Many of the reasons for the ban are based on racial discrimination and corporate interests. It’s a well documented story. However, there is a lot of optimism for the long-term future and the growing positive steps towards sustainable change.

Based on your own experience of the cost a cannabis ban can cost to an athletic career, do you have any advice for other athletes out there like Sha’Carri who are feeling the sting?

It’s a difficult situation. I felt humiliated, embarrassed, and angry. It’s devastating to put so much in something and get it taken away for what most people can see, purely political reasons backed by corporate interests. My best advice is to block out the noise and double up on your own character. As a human being, one understands what is “right” and “wrong”. There is nothing wrong with enjoying or benefiting from a plant – all of this nonsense is artificial and false.

Ross, as a Canadian, I can say with great confidence that our nation stood behind you 100 percent – in 1998 and to this day. North America, especially Canada, has one of the highest cannabis use rates per capita in the world.

We also enjoy one of the highest standards of living and are considered to be one of the safest places to live – cannabis is and will continue to be a part of the lifestyle of many people, whether athletes, teachers, doctors or students. It seems about time that sports bodies took a realistic approach so as not to alienate the fan base they support, the athletes and their sport.