Global Courant
An NCAA medical board recommends removing marijuana from the list of banned drugs and whether testing should be limited to performance-enhancing drugs
By means ofMICHAEL MAROT AP Sports Writer
FILE – Signage at NCAA headquarters under review in Indianapolis, March 12, 2020. An NCAA medical board thinks it’s time to remove marijuana from the governing body’s banned drug list. It also thinks drug testing should be limited to performance-enhancing drugs. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
The associated press
INDIANAPOLIS — INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An NCAA panel is calling for marijuana to be removed from the organization’s list of banned drugs, suggesting that testing should be limited to performance-enhancing drugs.
Friday’s proposal from the Committee on Competition Safeguards and Sports Medical Aspects would mark a major change for the NCAA, which has been conducting drug testing at championships since 1986. made, probably this fall.
Legislation would still need to be introduced and approved by all three NCAA divisions to take effect. Administrators of divisions II and III had asked the committee to study the matter.
The recommendation comes as the US sees more and more states allow medical or recreational use of marijuana.
Earlier this year, the commission raised the THC threshold needed for a positive test and recommended renewed penalties for athletes. The threshold for THC – the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana – was raised from 35 to 150 nanograms per milliliter, matching that set by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
The commission noted last December that marijuana and its by-products are not considered performance-enhancing drugs. Rather than focusing on penalties for cannabis use, the panel suggested emphasizing policies that focus on the potential threats of marijuana use and the need to reduce the harm and use of cannabis products.
It also advised schools that test to use those results to detect “problematic” cannabis use. The committee also wants to provide schools with additional guidelines on cannabis.
Separately, the committee proposed setting a threshold of 0.1 nanograms per milliliter as a trace level for the hormone GW1516, in the hopes of preventing athletes from becoming ineligible because they inadvertently ingest the substance from contaminated supplements.
The substance was originally designed to treat diabetes, but was discontinued in 2007. It has been linked to positive doping tests in endurance sports.
