World Anti-Doping Agency Keeps Cannabis Ban in Place

A year after announcing that it was reconsidering the cannabis ban, the World Anti-Doping Agency will reportedly maintain the ban.

wall street journal, Citing “people who have seen a draft copy of the list,” the agency said Monday that “cannabis is on the 2023 banned substances list, despite friction over last year’s suspension of American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson.” It looks like it’s ready to keep.”

Richardson was suspended last summer, less than a month before the start of the Tokyo Olympics, after testing positive for marijuana.

The World Anti-Doping Agency, as well as the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, all list cannabis as a prohibited substance.

U.S. governing body says cannabis is banned because it poses health and safety risks to athletes, and cannabis could be a performance-enhancing substance for some .

Anger over Richardson’s suspension prompted the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to reconsider its policy. It said it would initiate a scientific review.

After a year, it looks like the status quo.

wall street journal On Monday, it reported that “there are strong indications that cannabis remains prohibited as the deadline for finalizing the WADA 2023 Prohibited List approaches,” and that the Prohibited List Expert Advisory Group “will maintain the ban.” and based on the available scientific evidence, this drug meets the criteria for inclusion on the list.”

according to journal, the advisory group “will circulate the 2023 draft list that still includes cannabis” and WADA will “generally follow the advice”.However journal “We stressed that the list is still tentative until later this month,” the agency said.

“The draft 2023 Prohibited List is still under review,” a WADA spokesperson said in a statement. As quoted by wall street journal“WADA’s Executive Committee will be asked to approve the final version of the list during its September 23 meeting, and the list itself will be published no later than October 1, and will enter into force on January 1.”

Richardson’s marijuana test came back positive shortly after she won the 100-meter dash at the US Olympic trials. Richardson, now 22, took responsibility for her actions after her tests came out.

“I want to take responsibility for my actions,” Richardson said in an interview. today display when “I know what I should do and what I shouldn’t do. I know what I shouldn’t do, but I still made that decision. In my case, the excuse Instead of making excuses or looking for empathy, I was in that position in life and found things like that. […] It was definitely a heavy topic for me when it came to dealing with my relationship with my mother.

But others were less lenient with the decision, as Richardson amassed a wave of support from fellow athletes, lawmakers and even the White House.

“It sure stinks,” said then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki in an interview at the time. and she’s also the fastest woman in the world I think she’s sending a message to a lot of girls all over the world you can do this we where the rules are Maybe we should take another look at them, we have to respect the role of the US Anti-Doping Agency and the US Olympic Committee and their decisions, but it is It’s sad.”