Marijuana Remains on the Banned Substances List for Olympic Athletes

With the 2024 Paris Olympic Games well underway, the spotlight shines brighter on anti-doping risks and scandals. Two governing bodies control the prohibited substances list for professional and Olympic athletes: U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Both of these organizations work hard to drug test athletes after their events and publish findings on athletes violating doping laws, however, one banned substance has athletes, fans and even some USADA officials speaking out about the justification for banned substances. Marijuana. 

“I think we should all just be open and upfront about marijuana’s lack of performance-enhancing benefits,” Travis Tygard, USADA CEO, told Yahoo Sports. 

It is true that USADA and WADA both aim to find and punish the performance-enhancing drugs in an athlete’s system. Performance-enhancing drugs would be substances that give athlete's faster recoveries or boost their athletic performance. Marijuana does neither of these things, but it remains on the banned substances list despite being a legal substance in many U.S. states and other countries. 

Marijuana is also top of mind after U.S. 100-meter champion, Sha’Carri Richardson was barred from the 2020 Olympic Games after testing positive for THC. Her use of cannabis was completely separate from her athletic performance.

According to reporting by Marijuana Moment, “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.”

In defense of their decision to continue banning marijuana, WADA said that athletes who use marijuana are violating the, “spirit of the sport,” and this drug use makes them bad role models for young athletes. According to WADA, there are three criteria for banning any substance: is it performance-enhancing, does it pose a potential health risk and does it violate the spirit of the sport?

Sha’Carri Richardson isn’t the only U.S. Olympian using marijuana, far from it. 2020 Bronze Medalist Molly Seidel has been open about her marijuana use as well. "Maybe after I'm done running I would become an advocate for 'why weed should not be banned for athletes'," Seidel said. 

On a recent podcast, she also lamented the ban on marijuana, but clarified that she always stops using any marijuana product before competition so the substance is no longer in her system during drug testing. 

"The window starts when I arrive for a race. When I arrive for a major marathon, regardless of how late I get in, they're testing me the next morning before competition. Then you'll usually get one [test] after competition," Seidel explained. 

Some other organizations that have taken steps to remove marijuana from their own banned substances lists include the NCAA, UFC and the state of Nevada. The NFL has not fully removed marijuana from its banned substances list, but it has ended the practice of suspending players based on a positive test. 

“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,” Tygard said. Time will tell if Tygard's efforts to remove marijuana from the banned substances list will make any progress by Los Angeles 2028.