Marijuana and the Spirit of Sport Rule

Co-authored by?Edgardo Mu?oz?and?Otavio Delavi

In June 2021, the American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, the fastest American woman, lost her spot in the women’s 100 meters at the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for cannabinoids[1] and getting a 30-day suspension for violation of anti-doping rules from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).[2] Richardson admitted the breach of such rules and declared that she used marijuana (which contains cannabinoids) so to cope with the death of her biological mother and the pressure to perform at the U.S. track and field Olympic trials.[3]

If recently the issue of mental health of high-performing athletes has been in the spotlight of discussions within the sports community,[4] the consumption of so-called “substances of abuse” to cope with some emotions has also gained importance – in particular because the “spirit of the sport rule”, found in many Ethics and Anti-Doping codes, could be broken as a consequence.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code, which USADA adheres to, states that substances are banned if they meet two of three criteria: (i) enhancing performance, (ii) posing a health risk or (iii) violating the “the spirit of sport”.[5] Marijuana potentially falls into all three criteria[6] and it is considered substance of abuse because it is frequently used in a wrong or inappropriate way in society outside the context of sport.[7] ?

On the one hand, studies from 2011 suggest that “cannabis can be performance-enhancing for some athletes and sports disciplines.”[8] In addition, there is consensus among stakeholders that marijuana can be harmful to athletes’ health and safety during competition. Finally, WADA considers that ingestion of cannabis undermines the spirit of sport as described in its code.[9]

On the other hand, notwithstanding WADA’s position on cannabinoids as a substance of abuse, athletes and part of the medical community have argued that there’s no scientific evidence that marijuana can be a performance enhancer — in fact, supporters of that idea recognize that it has a reputation for decreasing athletic performance, by reducing stamina and peak performance while increasing heart and breathing rate.[10] Anchored on that lack of scientific evidence, for instance, organizers of tournaments such as the N.F.L., the Major League Baseball, the N.B.A. and the U.F.C. have recently loosened their marijuana rules by reducing penalties for a positive result, limiting tests, or even removing it from the list of prohibited substances.

Among the scientific community, objections against the WADA’s prohibition have been raised. For example, Whitney Ogle, professor of kinesiology at Humboldt State University, affirms that the points WADA flags as beneficial to athletes, such as reduced anxiety and better sleep, are associated with cannabidiol, a substance found in marijuana that WADA itself removed from its prohibited list in 2018.[11] In addition to that, two independent papers published in 2020 critically analysed the existing research into the question of whether the use of marijuana improves performance and reached the conclusions that the existing scientific evidence does not support that idea.[12]

However, marijuana’s categorization as a substance of abuse appears to be based on the current social opinion of it, rather than on its enhancing performance properties or its potential health risk.?There are different substances that pose a health risk for athletes that are not prohibited by the WADA Anti-Doping Code. The most common examples are substances found in spirits, liquors and tobacco. Consumption of these products is legal in most countries, and many athletes develop an addiction to them. The prejudicial effects of such substances go beyond the risk of health for the consumer; there is ample evidence and awareness of the pernicious social effect they also have.??

Yet, if the WADA test had found traces of alcohol or nicotine in Richardson’s body, no breach of the WADA rules would have ensued. These are not considered substances of abuse that are prohibited user the WADA Code. Conversely, the presence of cannabinoids in any athlete’s body leads to a violation of such rules in spite of the fact that marijuana may be legal in the territory it is smoked.

What is then in the world of sport’s perception of marijuana consumption that makes it a potential for breach of anti-doping rules from the perspective of the “spirit of sport rule”? Several elements can be mentioned in this regard. However, the best starting point may be to recall what does the “spirit of sport rule” stands for in different ethics and anti-doping codes. While there is no uniform definition, the WADA Code understands the “spirit of sport” as “the ethical pursuit of human excellence through the dedicated perfection of each Athlete’s natural talents”. The spirit of sport is the celebration of the human spirit, body and mind. It is the essence of Olympism and is reflected in the values we find in and through sport, including health, ethics, fair play and honesty, athletes’ rights as set forth in the Code, excellence in performance, character and education, fun and joy, teamwork, dedication and commitment, respect for rules and laws, respect for self and other participants, courage, community and solidarity.[13]

As might be noticed, the spirit of sport concept is not an easy one to grasp. It is composed of different values. These values actually overlap with the two additional criteria for banning substances under the WADA Code: health risk and enhancing performance.?However, Article 18 of the WADA Code on Education affords some light in determining its contours. Under this provision, “education programs shall promote the spirit of sport and have a positive and long-term influence on the choices made by Athletes and other Persons”. The second part of this rule works like an explanation of the first part. In this regard, the “spirit of sport rule” appears to impose a duty on athletes and coaches to act as virtuous role models for long term choices made by other athletes and the community in general. Consequently, they are expected not to engage in personal conduct which conflicts with their responsibility to encourage a practice of the sports that aligns with the above-mentioned values of Olympic, i.e. international, nature.

In the specific case of marijuana, the illegal status that it still has in many jurisdictions –in addition to its association with the traffic and consumption of stronger social drugs like cocaine or heroin – seems to be the background for consideration as a substance of abuse under the spirit of sport rule. Marijuana could possibly create an addiction to heavier social drugs that are associate with severe health problems and social distortions. This may be the contextual in which many governments still consider marijuana as an illegal drug and a public health threat. As a result, marijuana consumption could then contradict the spirit of the sport rule that aims at upholding values such as long-term health, character and education, respect for rules and laws, community and solidarity.

Probably inadvertently, Sha’Carri Richardson’s apology statement centered on such elements of the spirit of the sport rule. "I apologize," Richardson said on?NBC's "Today" show. "As much as I'm disappointed, I know that when I step on the track I represent not only myself, I represent a community that has shown great support, great love. ... I apologize for the fact that I didn't know how to control my emotions or deal with my emotions during that time."

Footnotes

[1] Sha’Carri Richardson tested positive for 11-nor-9-carboxy-tetrahydrocannabinol (Carboxy-THC), a urinary metabolite of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive constituent of cannabis, marijuana, and hashish, above the urinary Decision Limit of 180 ng/mL,?as the result of a sample collected in competition at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials on June 19, 2021, see U.S. Track & Field Athlete Sha’Carri Richardson Accepts Sanction for Anti-Doping Rule Violation, Sanction,?Track & Field?/?July 2, 2021; available at https://www.usada.org/sanction/shacarri-richardson-accepts-doping-sanction/

[2] As per WADA Code Article 10.2.4.1, where the Anti-Doping Rule Violation involves a Substance of Abuse and “the Athlete can establish that any ingestion or Use occurred Out-of-Competition and was unrelated to sport performance, then the period of Ineligibility shall be three (3) months. In addition, the period of Ineligibility calculated may be reduced to one (1) month if the Athlete or other Person satisfactorily completes a Substance of Abuse treatment program approved by the Anti-Doping Organization with Results Management responsibility”; see https://www.wada-ama.org/sites/default/files/resources/files/2020-01-11_guidance_note_on_substances_of_abuse_en_0.pdf

[3] Matthew Futterman, Sha’Carri Richardson, Not Chosen for U.S. Relay, Will Miss Tokyo Olympics, THE NEW YORK TIMES, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/06/sports/olympics/shacarri-richardson-olympics-team.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article

[4] See our previous LinkedIn article at https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/impact-athletes-mental-health-sponsorship-agreements-otavio-delavi/?trackingId=bA%2BDzD%2ByS3anqc%2FUa18ntg%3D%3D

[5] Diana Kwon, Weed Shouldn’t Be Banned for Elite Athletes, Some Experts Say, SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, available at https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/weed-shouldnt-be-banned-for-elite-athletes-some-experts-say/

[6] WADA Code, Article 4.3.1.

[7] Pursuant to Article 4.2.3 of the 2021 WADA Code, some substances on the 2021 List of Prohibited Substances and Prohibited Methods (2021 Prohibited List) have been identified as Substances of Abuse “because they are frequently abused in society outside the context of sport”. WADA’s Prohibited List Expert Advisory Group (ListEG) has identified the following substances as Substances of Abuse in the 2021 Prohibited List. ? Cocaine (S.6a – Non-specified Stimulants); ? Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA / “ecstasy”) (S.6b – Specified Stimulants); ? Diamorphine (Heroin) (S.7 – Narcotics); and ? Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (S.8 – Cannabinoids).

[8] Marilyn A. Huestis, Irene Mazzoni, and Olivier Rabin, Cannabis in Sport: Anti-Doping Perspective, SPORTS MED, available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3717337/

[9] See USADA letter to Congressmen Raking and Ocasio-Cortez available at https://www.usada.org/wp-content/uploads/USADA-Ltr-to-J.Raskin-and-A.-Ocasio-Cortez.pdf

Anahad O’Connor, Can Marijuana Make You a Better Athlete?, THE NEW YORK TIMES, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/11/well/move/marijuana-olympics-ban.html

[10] Ibid; Matt Richtel, Science Doesn’t Support Idea That Marijuana Aids Athletes’ Performance, THE NEW YORK TIMES, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/09/sports/olympics/marijuana-sports-performance-enhancing.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article

[11] Diana Kwon, see supra.

[12] Andrew Kramer, Justin Sinclair, Lara Sharpe, and Jerome Sarris, Chronic cannabis consumption and physical exercise performance in healthy adults: a systematic review, JOURNAL OF CANNABIS RESEARCH, available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7819470/

[13] See WADA Code 2021, pág. 13 available at https://www.wada-ama.org/sites/default/files/resources/files/2021_wada_code.pdf