U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Blasts ‘Unfair’ Marijuana Ban For Olympic Athletes

The head of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) is blasting the “unfair” ban on marijuana for athletes competing in international sport events, including the Olympics that are currently underway in Paris.

USADA CEO Travis Tygart said it’s “disappointing” that the World Anti-Doping Agency (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,” Tygard told Yahoo Sports. “We’re not in the recreational drug policing business. We’re here to prevent fraud in sport and cheaters in sport.”

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 said she used cannabis to cope with the recent passing of her mother.

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.

But following the review, WADA determined that cannabis would continue to be designated as a prohibited substance, arguing that marijuana use by athletes violates the “spirit of sport,” making them unfit role models whose potential impairment could put others at risk.

Several members of WADA’s Prohibited List Expert Advisory Group also penned an editorial in the journal Addiction last year defending their decision.

In the new Yahoo interview, Tygart criticized what he described as WADA’s “very closed-door process” to reach that determination, adding that U.S. officials only learned about it “after the fact.”

“At the end of the day, it’s unfair to punish behavior that’s not a violation of the rules, and that’s currently what occurs in some cases,” he said.

As more states have moved to legalize cannabis, sports organizations at multiple levels have worked to enact reform.

For example, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) recently voted to remove marijuana from its banned substances list for Division I players.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) announced in 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.

Nevada sports regulators voted last year to send a proposed regulatory amendment to the governor that would protect athletes from being penalized over using or possessing marijuana in compliance with state law.

While the NFL and its players union agreed to end the practice of suspending players over marijuana or other drugs as part of a collective bargaining agreement in 2020, it has continued to fine players over positive THC tests—a policy that’s being challenged in federal court by one player who was repeatedly penalized over his use of a synthetic THC medication he was prescribed to treat anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and pain.