If she can run that fast on weed

[bigtree]

twitter.com/goldengateblond/status/1410954313774428169

[panader0]

1. I watched her qualifying race.

She was a bit behind and just poured it on. What a sprinter!
Weed is legal in Oregon. The race was in Eugene right?
So maybe disqualified for doing something legal? C'mon!

[sarisataka]

4. The DQ is under the World Anti Doping Agency standards

Prohibited at all times
This means that the substance or method is prohibited In- and Out-of-Competition as defined in the Code.

Specified and Non-Specified
As per Article 4.2.2 of the World Anti-Doping Code, “for purposes of the application of Article 10, all Prohibited Substances shall be Specified Substances except as identified on the Prohibited List. No Prohibited Method shall be a Specified Method unless it is specifically identified as a Specified Method on the Prohibited List”. As per the comment to the article, “the Specified Substances and Methods identified in Article 4.2.2 should not in any way be considered less important or less dangerous than other doping substances or methods. Rather, they are simply substances and methods which are more likely to have been consumed or used by an Athlete for a purpose other than the enhancement of sport performance.”

Substances of Abuse
Pursuant to Article 4.2.3 of the Code, Substances of Abuse are substances that are identified as such because they are frequently abused in society outside of the context of sport. The following are designated Substances of Abuse: cocaine, diamorphine (heroin), methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA/”ecstasy”), tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

https://www.wada-ama.org/en/content/what-is-prohibited/prohibited-at-all-times

It doesn't matter if it is legal in Oregon, it is banned under the rules of international sport.

[bluecollar2]

2. When did weed become a performance enhancing substance?

Just wondering why my college soccer team didn't win 4 consecutive NCAA titles...

[underpants]

6. Recovery

Steroids also help in recovery from strenuous workouts. Steroids don’t actually help in performance.

Weed likewise could be a great relaxer both in muscles and in mind (stress)

[Elessar Zappa]

8. Steroids do help in performance

in strength based competition like weight lifting.

[lame54]

29. Or hitting home runs

[CrackityJones75]

34. Steroids help in recovery.

You have to train. Steroids without training do nothing. They keep your body in anabolic state longer rather than being in catabolic state.

[Ilsa]

12. Then they should prohibit prayer, meditation, taking communion,

and other behaviors before competition, if THC's only benefit is to reduce effect of emotional stress.

[malthaussen]

23. No, that doesn't follow.

Setting aside the question of whether THC should be a prohibited drug, the issue is between intrinsic or extrinsic enhancements. What a person does of his own capacity to enhance his performance is one thing -- we'd have to outlaw practice and training if we wanted to level the playing field there -- but using manufactured enhancements, like special equipment or drugs or what have you, is another thing. The former counts as part of an athlete's ability, drive, etc, but the latter counts as an unfair advantage, especially if the enhancement is something not commonly available to all competitors.

-- Mal

[CrackityJones75]

36. At what point do we outlaw

At what point do we outlaw high protein diets?

[malthaussen]

39. Yeah, that's a grey area.

Worldwide, I'd say that diet probably gives a measurable advantage to athletes from the richer countries. So it doesn't really fall under the category of "generally available." Regulating it would probably be a nightmare, though. And how does one develop a test for beefsteak?

-- Mal

[LiberalLovinLug]

45. How far does that go? Peppermint tea?

That helps me relax in the evening.

Some kinds of food are more comfort food. That also helps the mind relax.

Also some foods, and drinks DO actually physically help the body digest, process extra vitamins. You have to physically put these foods and drinks in your pie hole, just like pot smoke or vape or oil.

Sorry, but IMO this is left over reefer madness hysteria which is still a thing in a lot of Asian and third world countries especially. And the IOC is catering to them for no defensible reason.

An athlete is allowed a cup of coffee worth of caffeine before racing. Surely a small amount of THC in the bloodstream, long after it even is working, as opposed to the caffeine, should not be reason to ban anyone.

Its not an "enhancement" to performance. That should be the deciding factor. Athletes should be able to relax and recover from training with any legal plant based food or drink available to them. Whether its peppermint tea or pot tea, or some other tea made from plants in some third world country that we don't use here. Pot is not "manufactured". Like peppermint, it is derived from a natural plant. As long as there is no extra advantage in creating muscle or stamina, who cares how individual athletes recover from training?

[Traildogbob]

14. That's damn funny😂

[bluecollar2]

20. Thank you...

By rights we should have taken the Far Western Conference every year...although I'm sure the lads at Humboldt State might have given us a challenge....

[Traildogbob]

24. That's even funnier.

Humbolt should be “Track City” instead of Hayward Field at my Oregon Duck’s campus. Did Pre hit the bong? Evidently weed makes you swim like hell too and win dozens of gold medals.

[bluecollar2]

44. Between 76 and 79 Northern California

And Southern Oregon were regular purveyors of the herb to us in San Francisco. Home growing in the city wasn't very successful and Humboldt State had a great Agriculture department...lol

[blm]

22. Heheheh

[Bernardo de La Paz]

31. It's moralists; they think "all drugs bad" as they smoke their cigar & guzzle their whiskey & soda

[LakeArenal]

35. Point!!!

[EndlessWire]

60. LOL! n/t

[MontanaMama]

3. Is weed prohibited by American Olympic rules

or international Olympic rules? Cannabis is legal in much of the world… this doesn’t seem like a huge deal if the substance doesn’t enhance performance. I don’t know anything about it however…just spitballing.

[sarisataka]

5. Banned under international rules

See post 4
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215584564#post4

[USALiberal]

7. So irresponsible for her to even risk this, but I hope she can still compete. nt

[Cattledog]

9. Outdated rule.

[underpants]

10. Coping with death of mother

She explained that she knew the rules, but her use of marijuana was a coping mechanism after finding out her biological mother had died.
https://www.espn.com/olympics/trackandfield/story/_/id/31749534/american-sprinter-shacarri-richardson-apologizes-positive-test

[TheRickles]

26. Her mom died a week before the trials, so the weed she smoked to cope then

would have absolutely no effect on her athletic performance one week later. It's just a quirk of THC metabolism that it's detectable in the blood weeks and months after it's been ingested. I hope it gets appealed, as per the Canadian athlete mentioned below.

[Treefrog]

32. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess this was not her first weed experience.

[TheRickles]

40. Probably not, but if instead of weed she'd gotten drunk to cope, she'd be headed to Tokyo.

[ShepKat]

11. disgraceful

There is precedent for this.... the Canadian skier who tested positive for cannabis had his medal given back to him because cannabis ISN'T PERFORMANCE ENHANCING. The people who made this ruling needs to get their head out of their medieval ass. This pisses me off.

[jmowreader]

67. He was a snowboarder, not a skier

And the weird thing about that one is, the “snowboarder culture” really likes cannabis.

[ShepKat]

71. oh...

that changes things LOL

[Sneederbunk]

13. Rules are for other people, not the fastest.

[multigraincracker]

15. "Runner's High" is a

gateway drug to stronger stuff. We now have evidence to prove it.

[Jon King]

16. Stupid rule, but it is the rule....

Like with anything, if a rule is dumb then work to change it. But every athlete does have to abide by the rules, no matter how silly they are.

She messed up and owned it.

[OriginalGeek]

17. She shouldn't have to explain jack shit to anyone

about why she smoked weed. Nobody should have to.

Legalize it.

[sarisataka]

18. *sigh*

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215584564#post4

[OriginalGeek]

21. also sigh

it's a stupid fucking rule. It doesn't give her an advantage. They shouldn't even test for it. It's only banned because of outdated attitudes about cannabis. International sport has no business knowing what recreational things athletes do that have no performance enhancing effect on their competitions.

I can't help her in this case as it's already done but it's a rule that needs to be changed.

[sarisataka]

25. It is fine to think that the rule is stupid

And there have been discussions to drop it from the list.

However it has been banned for thirty years and in the year 2021 is still banned. Athletes are well aware of the lists.

Should she have to justify what she uses outside of competition-no. But it doesn't make sense to use something on the banned list that you know you will be tested for either.

[TheRickles]

28. It's unfortunate that THC is detectable in the blood weeks after being used.

So it had no impact on her performance, but has gotten her into a heap of trouble. Hope she can appeal.

[Treefrog]

33. I find it funny no one is up in arms here about Shelby Houlihan.

She didn’t even get a bad test due to a voluntary act, or at least so she says.

[sarisataka]

43. Hardly created a ripple

Even though one is a 30 day suspension which will allow competition in at least one event vs four year ban that includes this Olympics and the next

[ChubbyStar]

65. Start a thread get people "up in arms"

Maybe DU posters aren't aware of Shelby and the burrito tainted with the anabolic steroid nandrolone.

[StarfishSaver]

37. It may be a stupid rule, but it's a rule

And it wasn't a secret.

[AngryOldDem]

48. I agree, generally, but if there are effects in an athletic competition, that's different.

They could maybe refer to “performance altering drugs” rather than “performance enhancing drugs”. One reason I read for this ban on marijuana is that it can slow reflexes and affect judgment, which could become an issue in track and field events.

That said…

I never have been a fan of random or compulsory drug testing. What people do on their own time, in their own space, is nobody else’s business. If behavior on the job is iffy, or if there are other reasonable suspicions that something isn’t right, then that’s another scenario. This shit can stay in your system for ages. She obviously didn’t smoke right before she walked up to the start line, and by all appearances she ran clean races. But rules, unfortunately, are rules.

Maybe they should be given warnings first before suspensions.

[sir pball]

66. Effects in competition is why alcohol is banned in shooting/archery.

While mixing alcohol and firearms is probably about the unsafest combination this side of a Jerry can and a lighter, it's banned by the WADA not on those grounds but rather because the depressant effects make it a performance enhancer- slower heartbeat/breathing and a steadier hand make shooting (and archery) easier.

Seriously - Olympic medals have been stripped for it.

[Traildogbob]

19. She may be

Able to run in the 4X100 being it is after her suspicion is completed. The 100 will happen while the suspicion is still in play.
I want to see her run. Her trials performance was freaking amazing.
I was a competitive road distance runner for 30 years. Back when I smoked a little, I could not jog 100 yards, during my fitness peek while competing.
I feel Horrible for her. End criminalization of weed. Hell, Virginia just legalized it in the last few days. Freaking Virginny!

[rickyhall]

27. When will Pot Persecution end, damnit, we know better, but it never fucking ends?

[StarfishSaver]

38. How is this "pot persecution"?

She's not being "persecuted" and, in fact, she's not being punished for smoking pot. She's being punished because she broke the rules that prohibit athletes from using numerous substances, including certain-over-the-counter medications, prior to competing. She could have smoked all the weed she wanted outside of the window and not been penalized for it.

[TheRickles]

42. But the "window" for pot is weeks to months - it stays in the bloodstream long after it wears off.

We don't know when, exactly, she smoked this weed. But her Mom died a week before the race, so it's quite likely that she was feeling absolutely no lingering effects from smoking it, but the blood tests still picked up traces. That's not what the spirit of PE drug testing is about - it's as if she was being penalized for getting drunk a week before the race.

[StarfishSaver]

47. She said she smoke the weed shortly before the race.

This isn't about the "spirit" of PE drug testing. She knew that if she smoked pot shortly before her race, it would likely show up in her test. This isn't a gotcha and it isn't an injustice.

And she's not being penalized for getting drunk a week before the race. She's being penalized for violating the rule against smoking pot close enough to the race that it showed up in her test. She knew what the rules are, she admitted she was wrong and accepted her suspension. I don't know why other people who aren't involved in it are so worked up about it.

[OriginalGeek]

50. There is no good reason to ban pot or DQ people for having it in their systems

The only reason they do is because it's a rule. It's only a rule because they made it a rule which they didn't need to do.

Pot should be completely legal everywhere and until it is I will be worked up about it.

[StarfishSaver]

55. There may be no good reason to ban it

But as long as it's banned and against the rules, the athletes need to abide by them. They can't just pick and choose which rules they'll follow and which they won't based on their opinion of whether a particular rule makes sense.

[OriginalGeek]

59. I'm not arguing to give her a pass

She did it, she knew she did and she accepted it. I'm arguing that the rule needs to be changed.

[TheRickles]

51. I haven't seen any info on when, exactly, she smoked the marijuana.

If it was "shortly before the race" (ie, the same day), then she deserves what she got.

But if it was a week before the race, then her performance was not affected by the marijuana, and she is being nailed because of THC's unusual metabolism - it's stored in fat tissue and slowly released back into the bloodstream over weeks and months, long after it has affected the person's athletic performance. So "close enough to the race that it showed up in her test" effectively means an elite athlete can never use marijuana.

Sports federations can make whatever guidelines they wish, and kudos to her for owning up to her use, but I think the reason people are worked up is that this is a harsh and illogical rule that is a residue of the War on Drugs and its inappropriate penalties that have affected so many Americans over the years.

[ruet]

52. You'd Think A World Class Athlete Would Know About That.

[rickyhall]

53. It's all pot persecution. It's never been proven harmful much less performance enhancing.

Pot was banned to persecute black and brown people in the '30s. That's what it's all about, the political persecution of those who aren't like the people with the power. And never seems to end, but there is hope.

[DanieRains]

30. Newsflash Drugs Screw Up People's Lives

Case # 786,096,975,223,997,876,944,964,006,124

Pass it along.

(my recovering addict perspective)

[pwb]

41. Smoking pot shows up in tests a month after smoking.

People can function at 100% shortly after smoking. I doubt she was ever high while running. It just stays in the body a long time. This is just an Oooops for her.

[AngryOldDem]

46. I warned my son about that

He said he occasionally smokes. I don’t care, he’s a grown-ass man and can do what he wants. But he works for a major retailer that could at any time demand a piss test. I told him that THC stays in your system long after you ingest it. (I once worked with a guy who lived in fear of being randomly selected for a test. Is it worth it?)

My kid blew me off, but I feel like I did my motherly due diligence.

[roamer65]

49. A lot of employers are starting to ignore positive tests for weed.

Amazon recently relaxed their policy on it.

Too hard to find people AND with at will employment, if they are smoking weed on the job they can be canned immediately.

It’s gonna end where only select jobs are tested for it. Like truckers.

[Sympthsical]

54. Mine couldn't possibly care less

It does show up (the test kits are multi-drug affairs), but everyone's told to ignore it. It's legal in California, so it'd be ridiculous to hold it against someone.

It only becomes an issue if a supervisor perceives impairment. But, I mean, if you're so stoned at your job that it draws attention, you're an idiot.

[jmowreader]

68. Lots of pre-employment drug tests are done on machines

It’s no problem to turn off the THC test profile.

Here’s one for you: a couple weeks ago I was in Seattle buying tile and stopped at one of my favorite supermarkets. They had a help wanted sign that said they required a clean drug test including cannabis. I think the insurance companies are still saying “no weed for your employees” in states where it’s legal.

[Sympthsical]

70. I have heard that from some places

Given what I know of our production workforce . . . yeah, that's never happening.

I keep in touch with a colleague over at an Amazon location, and he laughed at the notion they'd get someone for cannabis. He said, "Who would we hire then?"

It's all very, "Don't make it our problem, and it won't be your problem."

[Downtown Hound]

56. Life long stoner, life long swimmer here

Graduate of Humbold State. Currently swim 120 laps in a 25 meter pool six days a week. Is this rule prohibiting cannabis use stupid? Yes, big time. Cannabis is not performance enhancing, at least not anywhere near in the same vein that anabolic steroids are. It may help in recovery by relaxing muscles and the mind, but so can a million other completely legal and allowed over the counter products.

Should weed be legal across the board? Absolutely. Should athletes who test positive for it be allowed to compete? Yes. That being said, these are the rules, stupid as they are, and if you're going to put all that effort into training for the Olympics, all you have to do is abstain from cannabis use for a month (in the case of a professional runner, probably more like two weeks, as aerobic exercise clears the body of cannabinoids faster).

I guess it's just a question of how much you want that medal. I've had to abstain for periods in my life when I wanted something (usually a new job that had a drug test), and while I didn't like it, I did it.

Again, how much do you want that medal? If you can't give up weed for a few weeks for it, I'm guessing not that much.

[NurseJackie]

57. Does weed "cover up" or help to thwart detection of other substances?

[Downtown Hound]

58. No.

[questionseverything]

61. This is why Biden's decriminalizing pot means nothing

Make it legal if you are of age, period

You want to tax it like booze fine but stop with pot smokers being second class citizens

And before I hear the,” but it was rules”

These rules were only put in place because of America’s war on drugs

[marked50]

62. Just an add to this discussion on the affect of weed on sports performance.

Now, this isn't any scientific finding, just a personal experience.

I smoked pot for quite sometime before this observation.

I was presented with a simple and safe exposure to a " mini- formula A" go-kart competition. This was "company' and family gathering for the employees and family for an evening of "fun" and team building--held at one of those go-kart places where you where were timed on your ability to navigate the course. Competition was that the winner was the one with the lowest completion time.

My wife was only a temporary cleric type at this place and I am her husband- we were all allowed to play. It was a small advertising company but the owner was somewhat of an egotistical type.

I had smoked some pot before it was my "turn". All I was concerned about was just doing the best I could on the course. I was one of the last in the competition.

The leader of the pack at that time was the "boss". Not for long. I smoked his time by quite a bit. Everyone was aghast.

That didn't sit well, so he challenged me to a second round. I complied, realizing that my wife's job or even her well-being may have been at risk. Now, on the second round - he won. I don't think that I slouched just because of the situation, but who knows.

The learning here was about the effects of pot on judgement. Not physically performance enhancement but mental. I realized that I just let myself "go with the flow" on that course. Wasn't overly concerned about safety in turns, etc that let me just shave those small seconds away from by total course time-or even the consequences. I wasn't being crazy and lucky, I just wasn't restricted by any unjustified fears.

So I do believe that pot has an effect. Not better or worse overall because there are all sort's of other mental effects that could actually hinder performance.

[wackadoo wabbit]

63. If this is a problem for the IOC, why did they let Michael Phelps race?

And why didn't they take away his medals?

I'm not saying it's because she's a woman and a POC, but . . .

[Generic Brad]

64. Umm..because he did not test positive before a race?

[peggysue2]

69. Thought the same thing

It's not as if weed is a performance enhancer. What a shame. After all those years of training, and then reaching the height of your capability.

Is what it is, I guess. But still a loss for Richardson and the Olympics.