NCAA panel wants to stop evaluating for marijuana

Jun 16, 2023, 05:13 PM ET

INDIANAPOLIS– An NCAA panel is requiring the removal of marijuana from the organization’s list of banned drugs, recommending that testing must be restricted to performance-enhancing substances.The proposal released Friday from the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports would mark a big modification for the NCAA, which has been performing drug tests at champion occasions since 1986. Committee members recommended halting marijuana tests at such occasions until a final decision is made, likely this fall.Legislation would still need to be introduced and authorized by all 3

NCAA departments to work. Administrators in Divisions II and III had asked the committee to study the issue.The recommendation comes as the U.S. is seeing more and more states allowing medical or recreational

marijuana use.Earlier this year, the committee increased the THC threshold required for a positive test and recommended revamped penalties for athletes. The threshold for THC– the psychoactive component in cannabis– was raised from 35 to 150 nanograms per milliliter, matching that of the World Anti-Doping Agency.The committee kept in mind in December that marijuana and its byproducts are not considered performance-enhancing substances. Rather of concentrating on

charges for cannabis use, the panel suggested stressing policies that focus on the potential threats from marijuana usage and the requirement to lower the damage and usage of cannabis products.It likewise advised schools that test to utilize those outcomes to help find”problematic “cannabis usage. The committee likewise wants to supply schools with extra standards about cannabis.Separately, the committee proposed setting a threshold of 0.1 nanograms per milliliter as a trace level for the hormonal agent GW1516 in hopes of preventing professional athletes from becoming disqualified due to the fact that of ingesting the compound unintentionally from polluted supplements.The compound was at first designed for diabetes treatment however was discontinued in 2007. It has been connected to positive doping tests in endurance-related sports.