The committee responsible for safeguards in terms of competition and the medical aspects of sport has just recommend stopping cannabis testing for NCAA athletes.
The committee says it based its advice on a summit on cannabinoids in college sports in 2022, an event held to learn more about cannabis research and policy. Research that has confirmed that cannabis is not an athletic performance-enhancing drug.
All three NCAA divisions must now approve the proposal to pass it. However, as more and more states legalize the use of cannabis in the United States, it seems only a matter of time.
This proposal is in line with most major professional sports leagues in the United States. In 2019, MLB removed marijuana from its list of prohibited substances. Last April, the NBA announced that it would no longer subject its players to drug tests.
Last year, the NCAA had raised the THC threshold needed to get a positive test. The threshold for THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, has been raised from 35 to 150 nanograms per millilitre, matching the threshold set by the World Anti-Doping Agency. In the event of a positive test, the university is supposed to provide an education and management plan for the student-athlete. If the student does not respect the project provided and is again tested positive afterwards, he is then sanctioned with several games of suspension.
Nevertheless, the committee in charge of safeguards in terms of competition and the medical aspects of sport would like to focus above all on the policies to be put in place to prevent the risks linked to the consumption of cannabis in general, rather than on the penalties imposed. to athletes in case of consumption.
