Sports Leagues Took Steps To Update Their Marijuana Policies As The Legalization Movement Grew In 2024
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As the politics around marijuana continued to evolve in 2024, so too did the policies concerning cannabis among major athletic organizations—from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to the National Football League.
With more states enacting legalization, there’s been pressure on sports organizations to adapt to the times. And over the years, many have opted to loosen marijuana-related restrictions in recognition of that reality—including some major developments this year.
Here are the top marijuana moments in sports of 2024:
The National Football League (NFL) agrees to further reduce penalties for players who test positive for THC
This month, NFL reached an agreement with its players union to further reform its marijuana policies, significantly reducing fines for positive tests while increasing the allowable THC threshold for players.
About four years after NFL ended the practice of suspending players over cannabis or other drugs as part of a collective bargaining agreement, the league has again revised its Substances of Abuse Policy and Performance Enhancing Substances Policy as the state-level legalization movement continues to expand.
The THC limit constituting a positive drug test will increase from 150 ng/ml to 350 ng/ml, the NFL Players Association said in a summary of the changes.
The penalty for a first offense will be reduced to a $15,000 fine, down from a half-game fine. A second offense will be lowered to $20,000. For a third positive test, players will lose a full-game pay, and for a fourth, it would be a two-game fine. Penalties for missed tests will also be reduced.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) removes marijuana from banned substances list for Division I athletes
NCAA in June voted to remove marijuana from its banned substances list for Division I players.
About five months after NCAA’s Division I Council proposed the rule change, the body adopted the policy, emphasizing that cannabis is not a performance enhancing drug and that it should be treated the same way as alcohol.
The reform builds on a 2022 change that increased the allowable THC threshold for college athletes, aligning NCAA’s rules with those of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
The adopted rule, which amends NDAA’s drug testing policies for student sports championships and postseason participation in football, will also be retroactively applied, discontinuing any penalties players are currently facing for a cannabis-related violation.
Nevada officials protect athletes from facing penalties of state-legal marijuana activities.
In October, Nevada regulators officially adopted a rule change that will protect athletes from being penalized for using or possessing marijuana in compliance with state law.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) has already informally adopted the policy going back to 2021, which it’s empowered to do under state statute, and has been waiving penalties for professional fighters who test positive for THC.
While the amended regulations still say that the commission adopts the WADA list of banned substances for athletes—which continues to include marijuana following the international governing body’s scientific review in 2022—the revised language carves out an exception for cannabis for fighters in the state.
The regulation says that “the possession, use or consumption of cannabis or cannabis products will not be deemed an anti-doping violation, notwithstanding the laws of the jurisdiction where the possession, use or consumption may have occurred.”
As Olympics were underway, U.S. athletics group criticizes international marijuana policies
The head of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) blasted the “unfair” ban on marijuana for athletes competing in international sport events, including the Olympics that were underway in Paris at the time of the comments.
USADA CEO Travis Tygart said it was “disappointing” that WADA has maintained the cannabis prohibition based on what he considers a misguided justification.
WADA did carry out a review into its marijuana policy at the request of USADA and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) following the controversial suspension of U.S. runner Sha’Carri Richardson, who was barred from participating in the Olympics in 2021 after she tested positive for THC. Richardson said she used cannabis to cope with the recent passing of her mother.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) warns fighters about penalties for testing positive for cannabis in California event, despite league-wide rule change
While UFC announced late last year that it was formally removing marijuana from its modified banned substances list for athletes, the league notified participants that the reform didn’t apply under California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) rules.
UFC advised fighters that they could be subject to a $100 fine by CSAS if they tested over 150 nanograms of THC per milliliter ahead of the UFC 298 event that took place in February.
National Basketball Association (NBA) and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) partner with CBD companies
At the beginning of the year, the Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty entered into partnerships with a CBD beverage company—the first teams in the NBA and WNBA, respectively, to forge deals with the cannabis industry.
The New York-based clubs are partnering with Mynd Drinks, a hemp-based CBD sparkling beverage company that also made history last year when it became an official partner of the Major League Baseball (MLB) team the Chicago Cubs.
NFL partners with Canadian researchers on CBD study
In January, NFL announced it was partnering with Canadian researchers on a clinical trial to test the safety and efficacy of CBD for pain management and neuroprotection from concussions—key issues for many football players who experience injuries as part of the game.
The Phase 1 trial will involve 35 people who will receive either a placebo or CBD-rich cannabis extract to test whether it’s “safe, well-tolerated and without adverse physiological and psychological dysfunction” for daily use.
NFL has committed hundreds of thousands of dollars to research investigating the therapeutic potential of the non-intoxicating cannabinoid in recent years, including funding for studies on CBD as a potential opioid alternative.
NFL and Denver Broncos face lawsuit from player who incurred penalties over use of prescribed synthetic cannabis medicine
NFL and the Denver Broncos in July asked a federal court to reject a player’s lawsuit alleging discrimination over penalties he incurred due to positive THC tests from his prescribed use of a synthetic cannabinoid.
In a joint motion to dismiss filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, the league and team defended their marijuana policy for players, affirming it’s their view that use of cannabis can lead to on-field injuries, poor job performance and “alienation of the fans.”
They said the league’s policy “contains detailed requirements and protocols for testing all players and makes clear that the use of substances prohibited under the Policy, including specifically THC, ‘can lead to on-the-field injuries, to alienation of the fans, [and] diminished job performance’ as an NFL player.”
Image element courtesy of Marco Verch.
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