There has been a lot of discussion around the recent suspension of Sha’Carri Richardson due to a positive drug test for marijuana. Many feel that it is not a harmful substance and she shouldn’t be penalized. They also argue that because it was legal in her homestate, she should not be punished for it.
In this episode I discuss this situation. While it is true that marijuana was legal in her state, it still is illegal Federally. And more to the point, it is on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned list. Which makes her penalty unfortunate, but fair.
However, maybe the discussion needs to be about taking marijuana off the WADA list. Afterall, it certainly isn’t a performance enhancing drug. She won’t run any faster after ingesting pot! We should probably be focusing our energy on getting WADA to look at there list and remove any substance that doesn’t affect an athlete’s performance. Or at the very least, remove the ones that have medicinal purposes like marijuana certainly seems to have.
There may be some of you that feel marijuana is a harmful drug, and no matter what it should remain banned and illegal. I can understand why you might feel that way. After all we have been told for decades that weed is harmful and so many people are arressted for using it, selling it, etc. It’s hard to start looking at it differently. But CBD and THC, the substances that make up marijuana, have proven medicinal benefits. So it’s probably time we look at it differently.
Listen to my episode and let me know what you think. You can get the episode here:
https://www.statementsofopinion.com/17
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