The National Football League has reached an agreement to reform its marijuana policy with the players’ union. This includes a reduction in fines for positive drug tests and a rise in the THC limit for players.
The league, which has been a leader in the legalization of cannabis and other drugs at the state level for the past four years, has revised its Substances of Abuse Policy (SA) and Performance Enhancing Substances Policy.
In a summary, the NFL Players Association stated that effective Friday, the THC level required to be a positive for drug tests will rise from 150 ng/ml up to 350ng/ml.
A first offense is now penalized with a fine of $15,000, instead of the previous fine for half a game. Second offenses will be reduced to $20,000 A third positive test will result in a loss of a game’s pay and a second fine for a fourth. NBC Pro Football Talk reported that penalties for missed testing will be reduced.
The league has also agreed that players’ teams will be notified in general about positive or failed tests without revealing the substance tested.
In addition, the revised policy states that positive test results will no longer count cumulatively. After a year, the positive test counts of players will be reset.
The NFL 2020 rule changes for cannabis and other substances are being built upon. This included a narrowing of the marijuana testing window. Only between the start pre-season session and the 1st pre-season match are players tested for THC metabolites. At the time, the threshold for a cannabis positive test was increased from 35 ng/ml.
Meanwhile, NFL and the Denver Broncos in July asked a federal court to reject a player’s lawsuit alleging discrimination over penalties he incurred due to positive THC tests from his prescribed use of a synthetic cannabinoid.
In a motion to dismiss filed in the U.S. District Court for District of Colorado by the league and its team, they defended their marijuana policies for players. They affirmed that their belief is that cannabis use could lead to injuries on the field, poor performance at work and “alienation of their fans.”
They said the league’s policy “contains detailed requirements and protocols for testing all players and makes clear that the use of substances prohibited under the Policy, including specifically THC, ‘can lead to on-the-field injuries, to alienation of the fans, [and] “A NFL player’s diminished performance as a worker.”
While it is taking this position in the lawsuit, NFL itself has committed significant funding to research into whether CBD can serve as an effective opioid alternative, and it’s also explored the therapeutic potential of the non-intoxicating cannabinoid for pain management and neuroprotection from concussions.
A commissioner of the NFL and the league’s players union previewed the funding plan in June 2022, emphasizing the strong interest among players and other stakeholders. The joint NFL-NFLPA committee also held two informational forums on CBD in 2020.
Other sports leagues also revised their marijuana policies, as the movement to legalize cannabis on a state-level continues to spread.
In October, Nevada regulators officially adopted a rule change that will protect athletes from being penalized for using or possessing marijuana in compliance with state law.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association voted recently to remove marijuana as a prohibited substance for Division I athletes.
In June of last year, the NBA and its players union signed a collective bargaining agreement that removed marijuana from the league’s banned substances list and laid out rules allowing players to invest in and promote cannabis brands in certain cases.
MLB announced that it would be partnering with a popular CBD product in 2022. Charlotte’s Web Holdings – one of the nation’s most recognized hemp-derived CBD brands – signed the agreement with MLB to become the “Official CBD” of MLB.
Some MLB teams such as Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs and others have partnered with CBD companies.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) announced last December that it is formally removing marijuana from its newly modified banned substances list for athletes, also building on an earlier reform.
However, ahead of a UFC event in February, a California athletics commission said they could still face penalties under state rules for testing positive for THC over a certain limit, as the state body’s policy is based around WADA guidance.
Meanwhile, two in three Americans feel that Olympic athletes should be able to use marijuana without facing penalties—a higher percentage than those who say the same about alcohol, tobacco and psychedelics, according to a recent survey.
The issue is a long-standing one, as international organizations like the World Anti-Doping Agency maintain the prohibition of cannabis, while institutions like the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency push for reform.
In August, USADA CEO Travis Tygart said it was “disappointing” that WADA has maintained the cannabis prohibition based on what he considers a misguided justification.
“I think we should all just be open and upfront about marijuana’s lack of performance-enhancing benefits,” Tygardt said. “We are not in the recreational drugs policing industry. We are here in order to prevent sport fraud and cheaters.
WADA did carry out a review into its marijuana policy at the request of USADA and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) following the controversial suspension of U.S. runner Sha’Carri Richardson, who was barred from participating in the Olympics in 2021 after she tested positive for THC. Richardson stated that she had used cannabis as a way to cope with her mother’s death.
USADA said at the time that the international rules on marijuana “must change.” The White House and President Joe Biden himself also signaled that it was time for new policies and congressional lawmakers amplified that message.
Snoop Dogg Launches Online Cannabis Store With Hemp-Derived THCA Products, Smoking Supplies And More
Image element provided by Marco Verch.