Olympic athletes first to face loosened marijauna testing

Acceptable levels raised tenfold

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An article in Al Jazeera is reporting that in part due to Colorado’s decision to legalize marijuana, athletes competing at the Olympics can have nearly 10 times as much of it in their system and still be able to pass a drug test.

From the article…

In May 2013, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) raised the
in-competition threshold for marijuana tenfold, to 150 nanograms per
milliliter. The move is in line with evolving views toward marijuana
across the United States and the rest of the world.

And…

2014 marks the first Olympics since then in which athletes don’t
have to fret as much about testing positive for small concentrations of
THC that overstay their welcome after out-of-competition use, which is
not prohibited, or from standing in someone else’s cannabis cloud.

The article also says marijuna use remains prohibited during competition, not because it is a performance enhancer, but because it fulfills two of the three Olympic criteria: “posing a health risk and violating the spirit of sport.”

Read the full story here.