Here’s a little known fact about the Olympics, and one that actually makes a whole lot of sense – you can test positive for marijuana and you WON’T be expelled from the Games.
In 2014 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) changed the rule on this front, upping the threshold for an illegal test considerably.
How considerably, and how much weed would you have to smoke (or ingest) to trigger expulsion? Here’s Civilized:
In 2014…the accepted level of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in an athlete’s system has been raised considerably, from 15 nanograms per millilitre of urine to 150 ng/ml…
“Officials say…an athlete who smoked some weed before the Olympics, or inhaled second-hand smoke, wouldn’t likely test positive,” wrote [reporter] Waldie. “Someone who failed the new test would have to be ‘a pretty dedicated cannabis consumer,’ WADA officials have said.”
That’s good news for athletes who enjoy the odd toke, but what about if weed is actually a performance-enhancing drug? That’s the case for some skateboarders, says Ozzie legend Tas Pappas, and he’s worried about how the sport’s inclusion in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will deal with this issue.
Below from ABC:
“I’m wondering how it’s going to work as far as the drug testing is concerned, because some guys skate really well on weed and if they have to stop smoking for one competition [the Olympics] it might really affect their performance,” he said…
He also said that the nature of competition is something that might not resonate well with those who love the sport:
“As far as the skate community is concerned, for a lot of people it will seem cheesy. This country versus that country is not the unified skate culture,” he said.
“When you meet a bunch of skaters you don’t feel like it’s us versus them, it’s just a bunch of guys getting together and want to have a skate.”
Just a bunch of guys, out for a skate, who might want to share a spliff – what’s more in the Olympic spirit than that?
