For the UFC, cannabis no longer contravenes anti-doping rules

L’Ultimate Fighting Championship The UFC and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced Thursday that cannabis would no longer necessarily be banned for fighters.

Officials from the UFC and USADA said they had made significant changes «in how they handle cannabis and its natural cannabinoid compounds.».

Under the new policy, people who test positive for THC will no longer constitute a violation «unless there is additional evidence that an athlete intentionally used it to enhance performance.»

«Although we want to continue preventing athletes from competing while under the influence of cannabis, we have learned that blood and/or urine levels of carboxy-THC have little or no scientific correlation with impaired performance,» he said declared Jeff Novitzky, UFC Senior Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance. «THC is fat-soluble, which means that once ingested, it is stored in the body’s fatty tissues and organs and can be released into the bloodstream or urine, sometimes long after ingestion.»

«The bottom line is that, when it comes to cannabis, we’re concerned with what an athlete consumed on the day of a fight, not days or weeks before a fight—which has often been the case in our past instances of positive THC tests,» he added.

Jeff Novitzky stated that despite how long THC remains in the body, the effects of cannabis last for hours, not days. He also noted that there is no correlation between the level of THC in an athlete’s body and poor performance.

«Why on earth do we care what someone did a week ago—let alone the night before—when it has no effect on their ability to fight?» he declared Novitzky.

Jeff Novitzky noted that, based on discussions with athletes, a significant percentage of fighters use cannabis, many for medical rather than recreational purposes.

«Many people use it for pain relief, to reduce anxiety, and to help them sleep, instead of more dangerous and addictive drugs,« he said, adding that »it has no effect on a competition on Saturday night, so it’s the right decision, and I’m really excited about this review and this specific policy change.”

In November 2020, the World Anti-Doping Agency had announced plans to remove recreational drugs from the list of banned substances to be classified as «substances of abuse.» Thus, if an athlete can demonstrate that the use of one of these four substances occurred out of competition and was unrelated to a potential increase in athletic performance, the suspension imposed will be three months and may be reduced to one month if the athlete completes a rehabilitation program.