According to several reports, an NCAA committee recommends weeding out marijuana from a list of banned drugs for college athletes.
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On Friday (June 16), it was reported that an NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) medical panel called for marijuana to be removed from the organization’s list of banned drugs for college athletes.
The recommendation came from the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports, and they are looking to shift focus from testing student athletes for a little Mary Jane to actual performance enhancing drugs.
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While making their recommendations, the committee also sought support from the NCAA Board of Governors to temporarily cease testing for cannabis at NCAA championship events, at least until the new legislative action is considered.
Now, this is a huge milestone in the battle to stop marijuana testing for college athletes. However, there are still several major boxes that still need to be checked off before any real changes can take place. It is reported that we will most likely see more movement towards Fall 2023.
There still needs to be a draft submitted to lawmakers, and legislation would need to be officially introduced and approved by all three NCAA divisions before any new regulations make their way to competitions and other events.
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Earlier this year, it was reported that the NCAAA committee achieved a win in the fight to continue weeding out marijuana testing for student athletes. They were able to get an increase on the threshold for THC (the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana) that could be found in a student athlete’s system before sanctions are imposed. It went from 35 to 150 nanograms per milliliter, which matches the World Anti-Doping Agency.
According to the NCAA’s press release, additional recommendations for weeding out marijuana include:
- Focusing on testing for substances that provide an unfair advantage by enhancing athletic performance.
- Shifting toward a harm reduction philosophy for cannabis, similar to the approaches taken with alcohol.
- Realigning toward institutional testing and how that testing supports/enhances campus efforts to identify problematic cannabis use.
- Educating student-athletes on the health threats posed by contemporary cannabis and methods of use.
- Identifying and explaining relevant harm reduction/mitigation strategies to those student-athletes who choose to legally consume cannabis.
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