The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) agreed to review its marijuana ban following American runner Sha’Carri Richardson’s suspension from 2022’s Olympics. Their review has been concluded and the agency has decided to continue as-is. Marijuana will not be removed from the banned substances list for athletes in competition.
To their credit, the agency did offer a detailed explanation for the decision in a recently published paper. They cited four key reasons for keeping the marijuana ban in place. It is hard to argue against their reasoning if you look at the entire scope of the issue. But if you focus only on the idea that marijuana is ostensibly harmless and can actually help athletes perform better, you may not agree with the WADA’s decision.
In Violation of the Spirit of Sports
All four points laid out by the agency are encapsulated in the idea that using marijuana violates the spirit of sporting competition. International sporting competitions, whether it be the Olympics or something else entirely, are at a higher level in terms of honor, integrity, and sportsmanship. After all, these are not events featuring paid athletes trying to earn a paycheck by playing a game to entertain spectators. They are athletes competing for the sake of sport itself.
Within that context there is a greater need to uphold integrity and honor. Yet there are immediate questions of honor and integrity when athletes are using a substance that is still illegal in most parts of the world. Therein lies the biggest issue for WADA.
The Four Points of Reason
In a recent paper explaining their decision to keep the marijuana ban intact, the world’s leading organization for preventing doping in sports cited four points of reason. Here they are:
- Marijuana consumption can undermine the principle of excellence in performance.
- Because marijuana is illegal in many parts of the world, consuming it tarnishes an athlete’s character and reputation as a role model.
- Marijuana consumption is also a matter of violating the law in most countries around the world.
- The safety and welfare of all athletes requires being circumspect about substances that could cause impairment in competition.
It is unlikely that pro-marijuana advocates will respect WADA’s decision. I expect to hear lots of accusations being hurled at the anti-doping agency and its members. Nonetheless, the ban against marijuana will remain intact for now.
Marijuana As a Medical Product
It could be argued that international athletes should be able to use marijuana as a medical product. Managing pain would be a good angle here. According to the operators of Brigham City, Utah’s Beehive Farmacy, pain management is the number one reason people use medical cannabis to begin with.
The case could be made that marijuana is no different than any other pain reliever from a competitive standpoint. But even if that were proved true, there are questions of whether marijuana enhances an athlete’s performance. And if it does, using it as a pain reliever would introduce competitive complications.
Even something as simple as marijuana helping an athlete sleep – and Beehive Farmacy says that medical cannabis patients routinely report improved sleep – could improve in-competition performance. So what you have here is a very slippery slope that anti-doping officials are trying to avoid.
Perhaps marijuana will be removed from the banned list at some point in the future. But for now, despite pressure from pro-marijuana advocates and certain government officials, WADA is holding its ground. The ban on marijuana for in-competition athletes will remain in force so as to stay true to the spirit of international sporting competition.
