Tuesday, July 27, 2021
After suspension of sprint hope
Will marijuana be removed from the doping list?
Probably the greatest sprint talent at the moment is missing from the Olympic Games. Sha’Carri Richardson is banned shortly before Tokyo for using marijuana. The drug does not help to improve top athletic performance. That is why a debate about legalization is now beginning.
After the fall of US sprint hopper Sha’Carri Richardson, Sebastian Coe, President of the World Athletics Federation, initiated a debate about whether marijuana use should continue to be considered doping. It was “sensible” to talk about it, said the 64-year-old: “Nothing is set in stone.” Coe announced that the World Federation’s Independent Integrity Commission AIU would discuss the problem with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and other national anti-doping agencies.
Richardson, who had increased the 100 meters to 10.72 seconds this season, tested positive for marijuana at the US trials in Eugene, Oregon in June and is banned from the Tokyo Olympics. The 21-year-old said the reason for taking the drug was “a state of emotional pain” caused by the news of the death of her birth mother.
Risk taker in competition
“I’m sorry for her,” said Coe, describing her as “an outstanding talent” that was lost for the games. But he also emphasized that the anti-doping rules had been correctly applied. The US federation had also said that he was “incredibly compassionate”. However, you have to be fair to the other athletes who, for their part, have worked for the dream of participating in the Olympics.
The International Olympic Committee had banned the use of cannabis for all sports as a doping substance for competition from January 1999. The World Anti-Doping Agency has maintained this ban since 2004. The drug is now legalized in many US states. The major US sports leagues have relaxed their regulations. The NHL is still testing for cannabis, but treating the substance in a similar way to alcohol. The MLB baseball league is doing a similar thing.
According to a statement by the Institute for Biochemistry in Cologne, the use of cannabis “does not lead to an improvement in top athletic performance”. However, due to the calming effect of cannabis, an athlete could go into competition more risk-taking.
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