The NCAA, in an attempt to adjust its testing practices to modern science, has adjusted the threshold for which a positive marijuana test is considered an adverse finding at their NCAA Championship meets.
Specifically, they have lowered the level from 15 nanograms per milliliter to 5 nanograms per milliliter, meaning that only one-third the level of marijuana in an athlete’s urine would trigger a positive test.
The rationale from the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports (CSMAS), who voted on the measure in December, is that current testing technology had advanced to the point to warrant lowering the threshold. The concern of having a threshold above zero is the need to accurately identify intentional use of marijuana without trapping those exposed to second-hand smoke.
Marijuana use and its danger, or lack thereof, is currently a very heated discussion in American society, as there is a strong movement to push for its legalization (and in many jurisdictions, that has happened, sort-of). While a discussion on that is outside the scope of this NCAA decision, what is within the scope is the NCAA’s belief that the use of street drugs violates WADA’s goal of maintaining the sanctity of the sport.
“Marijuana is illegal from the federal government perspective, and it is still not clear how the state-federal dialogue will play out, NCAA Chief Medical Officer Brian Hainline said of the decision. “That being said, the World Anti-Doping Agency lists three reasons for drug testing in sport: (1) to prevent cheating through the use of performance-enhancing substances and methods; (2) to deter athletes from ingesting substances that may harm the athlete’s health; and (3) to deter athletes from ingesting substances or engaging in doping methods that are contrary to the spirit of sport. Whereas the CSMAS rightly focused on the fact that marijuana and other street drugs are not performance enhancing, the committee also recognizes that the universe of sport is special, and the student-athlete is obliged to embrace the spirit of sport. We do not believe that student-athletes should be ingesting marijuana and other street drugs, and we believe that a combination of penalties coupled with behavioral intervention is the most balanced approach to this issue.”
Hainline also discussed that the consensus reached by the CSMAS is that marijuana is not performance enhancing, which is a key to future potential regulation on the topic in sport.
The penalty for the first positive test in the NCAA, which only tests directly at its championship and bowl events, is a one-year suspension plus a loss of one year of eligibility. A second test results in a second year if it is a street drug, or a permanent ban if it is a PED. NCAA member institutions frequently conduct their own tests, however; while the results of these tests are usually unreleased by law, anecdotal evidence would speak that it’s not uncommon for college athletes to test positive, with different levels of punishment by their specific programs, depending on the circumstances.
The threshold for WADA (aka, USA Swimming events) remains at 15 nanograms per milliliter. The NCAA’s official guideline is that marijuana can show in a person’s urinalysis up to a month after usage, sometimes more for a chronic user. There is at least one reported case of a collegiate diver, former USC All-American Harrison Jones, testing positive in a USADA case and getting suspended
Hainline answered a number of questions about marijuana usage very frankly; if you have further interest in the topic, we encourage you to read that Q & A here. Those on either side of the issue should be able to appreciate Hainline’s and the NCAA’s honesty on the issue.
If you are new at the team will they not accept you if in your first blood work there is THC ? Pleaseeeee please answer. ( it’s for a varsity team)
its sad that some colleges are not tested like they should be! Honestly it should not matter what division or what college or university it is they should all be drug tested! We have players who get caught drinking and smoking, most being under age and not a thing is done to them! well guess what that says to all the other students and the other colleges and universities! They have opened a big door for all schools and students for letting them get away with this cause now anyone can do these things and get away with it!!!!! so GOODJOB!
This isn’t really going to change anything… the amount and frequency of testing will remain the same. This change will only affect those that are tested when their body has between 5 and 15 nanograms per milliliter. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that most people who are found positive have significantly more than 15 and those that are negative are much lower than 15. The debate about whether its “right” or “moral” or whatever other words you can think of is stupid, because at the end of the day it doesn’t actually matter what you do unless you are tested AND fall between 5 and 15 which has got to be highly unlikely.
You bring up interesting points, Ben. I’ve reached out to a few experts on both drug testing and marijuana to see what their thoughts are on what exactly the change from 15 to 5 really means. Will have a follow-up when I hear back from someone.
any news? Seems like drugs either in this thread or the china one cause quite an internet stir…
Well, if you don’t want to research on your own, I can tell you that in California, for example, the threshold for violating probation and parole is 50 or 55 ng/ml. Many counties have bumped it up to 55, due to courts ruling in favor of defendants claiming false positives. For example, if one were to accidentally take a bite of a baked good containing strong hash(oil), and even spit it out, they would more than likely test above the 5 and 15 ng/ml threshold. If one were to hang out in a smokey room, you are looking at easily above the 5 and probably the 15. It is a joke of a level. I tested at levels above 1000… Read more »
What I thought was really interesting was that the NCAA found it to be not performance enhancing in any sport. I would think in a sport like platform diving or golf, the calming effects could be viewed as performance-enhancing.
Yes, however, doesn’t it seriously messes up depth perception and delay your reaction time? Can’t imagine a platform diver smoking before jumping from a 3 story building all the while doing several flips and a couple of twists.
If the sport is this “dirty” it needs to be cleaned up. I hope they increase testing year round and STRONGLY punish all that are doing this. End their scholarships, strip their medals, ban them from the sport. Should my kid be one of them – so be it.
How can you be so violently out of touch with reality? Every sport, every school, every group, every social circle(even if yours are probably as big as a hula hoop) has those who consume recreationally. Have you thought that your child lying to you and those you know keeping the truth from your eyes perhaps could be due to your medieval views on the subject? Instead of posting that drivel online, maybe, just maybe, you should be rethinking your apparently stout belief-system(stout enough to publicly encourage banning/arresting athletes for cannabis consumption) and why it doesn’t mesh with reality. It is not this sport, or that state, or this race, or that gender, that is “dirty,” as you put it. It’s… Read more »
Why so edgy? R-U jonesin’?
Haha hardly edgy. It is tough to see the anti-civil rights types try to foist their particular brand of crazy on others. It is just so wrong. So, so wrong. And very saddening to see. You of all people know what it is like when a significant % of people involved in a group(say USA swimming), choose dissonance over dealing with reality, and then have the audacity to make decisions that affect all, based on their terribly misguided beliefs. And next thing you know they have dictated what will be the status quo, and the argument shifts from right/wrong and reality/fantasy to legal/illegal where anything illegal or against the status quo is bad or wrong or dangerous because why else… Read more »
All of these things you describe are magnified by the leadership of swimming organizations. Each one has its own brand of crazy, but all of them are populated by leaders who are power-hungry control freaks and do not care about their members beyond collecting their money. Swimmers are easy targets. They spend half their lives face-down in the water, and the swimming pool is often much deeper than the thought that goes into what’s going on around them. Since swimming is such a small, insular world, these off-center decisions seem much worse than they really are. Once you get out into the real world, you’ll find more of a normal balance.
I agree with you to a degree. I don’t take swimming and the swimming world too seriously away from the pool/deck, but am well aware of the problems that originate at the top-end of USA swimming, many of the LSCs, and on down to the individual club levels, that unfortunately affect the swimmers and coaches so negatively. Lets just say that out of touch board rooms ruin a lot of organizations, not just swim clubs. I have run into far worse and far better run companies/associations/groups than USA swimming – I worked for Microsoft, enough said. It is hard to see the blood, sweat, and tears put in for years, decades, be cast aside by the worthless decisions of a… Read more »
The idiot USMS brought in from NASCAR was just the last episode in a long-running series full of unethical, hostile people, who never had my best interests at heart. My only regret is not seeing it sooner, but there’s much more reason to feel sorry for USMS than me. I’m fine. They aren’t.
As for the NCAA, all swimmers who trade their swimming services for college scholarships are hostages, and the heavy emphasis placed on swimming development causes them to sacrifice much of the benefit of any academic experience the school may be offering. We can feel a little sorry for them, too.
Clearly USMS fell into the trap of thinking that a highly-paid, sought-after executive is some kind of cure all, because of some measure of previous “success” – in this case at NASCAR. Haha that is too funny btw I wouldn’t let the CEO of NASCAR wash my car much less come near leading a company I had an interest in. The heavy, widespread political shift to the right over the last 3 decades has engendered a worship of money and greed, where successful organizations are deemed as such because of their return on investment to share holders, measured solely in dollars and cents. A much better measure would be return on investment to those investing time, energy, and care into… Read more »
I got lucky, or maybe it wasn’t luck. You see, I had other interests. When swimming failed me for the last time, I just went down another path I’d been wanting to go down for a long time. Not only did I discover benevolence and social responsibility, but I landed squarely in the middle of a multi-billion-dollar industry that has thrived throughout the recession. An interesting side note worthy of consideration, my industry is dominated by women.
What I really have to say to NCAA swimmers is, don’t spend a disproportionate amount of time with the sport of swimming. If you’re worried about how many nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood before competition, chances are you’re putting far too… Read more »
Haha very true about the NCAA side. If you are a part of a positive team atmosphere, with a good coach, it is totally worth it. I had a blast at Berkeley, and would do it again in a heartbeat, and my resume wasnt hurt at all. Unfortunately, I know far too many who experienced otherwise at different institutions. I think it boils down to the coach, and his care and attention to detail away from the pool. We used to get reminded all the time to clean our rooms, get ahead in school, and get plenty of sleep on our days off. And we did. Good times. The only negative is I think I took only 2 engineering courses… Read more »
I never participated in the NCAA, but didn’t feel like I missed out on a strong scholastic swimming experience. High school was actually very much like a collegiate experience. The level of competition was very high, and there was a subculture of swimmers and coaches who had issues with drugs, alcohol, and promiscuity- just like college! Kids grow up even faster today.
When it was time to decide where to go to college, it was my mother who screwed my head on straight. In her mind, the idea of me studying photography at RISD sounded much more promising than four years of swimming in college. She was right.
The sport takes so much time, it is physically draining,… Read more »
RISD very nice! My sister went to RISD for summer every year during high school. She ended up loving the east coast(we are from Palo Alto), and she attended Swarthmore and then BU for grad school. She bought a place in Boston and one in, yep, Providence. She is young, 31 in May, but did well enough to settle down and retire to her own desires, which are what she learned at RISD – graphic design, studio and performance art.
IMO there is a little bit more to be said for the college swimming experience, but yes, it has its downsides. Again, I wouldn’t do it any other way.
I’ll check out the website.
The funny thing was, most of the people I knew from swimming chose colleges based on how good a match the swim team would be. They went to college to swim. I went to college to learn. You’re right about RISD, by the way. My swimming friends didn’t know what RISD was. They thought I was going to some kind of technical/trade school, like the ones you see advertised on TV.
LOL!
You are on edge about this for sure 🙂 My social circle is larger than a hula hoop!! Who knows how large yours is as we all hide behind screen names – we’ll never know but I’d be willing to bet “my circle” has a few that have done pot in the past but maturity has a way of changing your view on many things. I hope you can find “highs” in life without resorting to illegal drug use. If things are like you say in California – perhaps that’s a contributing factor to why that state is about bankrupt. I’ve never smoked pot and never will – it is illegal in the US despite what the voters in California… Read more »
I’m hardly on edge. Read into comments whatever you want, but you continue to display ignorance beyond all reason. It is laughable to think that California is almost bankrupt, it is easily the richest state in the union, despite bold-faced lies perpetrated by the right wing thinktanks and ran with by the dumbest amongst us. You confuse budget shortfalls with wealth concerns. Quite foolish of you indeed.
Your clear misunderstanding of the balance and relationship between federal and state power and law-making and regulations in this country is astounding. I don’t believe you are a functioning adult, much less a parent of a child(that thought scares me – poor kid). It IS federally acceptable to possess and ingest cannabis… Read more »
This entire thread of comments makes my head hurt…
Most male swimmers smoke pot and girls do yoga, seriously?!
If MP does it, it’s okay?
Throwing out Lochte’s name as a coke user behind an anonymous handle? Grow a pair you troll…
I’m not going to argue whether or not pot should be legal, but currently it is not across the nation. Regardless if you like everything or nothing the NCAA does, these are privileged athletes, competing for a college is not a universal right. This is part of the deal and if you don’t like it, quit competing or start a petition to the NCAA if marijuana is so important to you.
I have a kid at one of the colleges ROFLSTOMP mentions above right now – there is no way near 1/2 of the team smokes pot in the off season. Bottom line is it is illegal. If Lance is banned for life maybe some of swimming sports “stars” should be too if they are in fact using illegal drugs.
I can only speak from experience. Maybe things have changed in the last three years, but based on what I saw over the 40 year period prior to my exodus from the sport, there was no degree of uncertainty about swimming being riddled with substance abuse.
This is a hypothetical… Your kid would tell you if they smoked pot? After he hits the bong, he is so overcome with guilt that he calls you up and confessed to smoking and then proceeds to tell you all of his teammates that smoke too?
Yes, pot is illegal. So is drinking underage. Did/does your son drink underage? If so, group him in with the criminal pot smokers and ban them from the sport.
To the people who look down on pot smokers-despite what your parents told you when you were a kid, God doesn’t kill a puppy every time you get baked. Before you judge it, try it (do it twice because you don’t actually get high the… Read more »
Just because something feels good doesn’t mean it’s good for you.
Obviously there are a large amount of people who don’t understand this.
Just because something is illegal doesn’t mean it is bad for you. Far more people do not undertand this.
If you are insinuating that cannabis use cannot be safe, healthy, and anything but beneficial if used correctly, then you are the clown at this rodeo. You’re just not a very entertaining clown.
Uh-huh. Because inhaling smoke into your lungs is definitely “safe, healthy and anything but beneficial.” Brilliant.
You don’t have much life experience do you? There are many different ways to use cannabis. One, ONE, of which involves smoking. Why do people insist on jumping up and spotlighting the fact that they are absolutely clueless? It is so counter-intuitive to me. I wouldn’t go on some bible study website and start making claims about that which I know relatively little about. And if I were so inclined to comment, I sure as heck wouldn’t pretend to know what I was talking about, much less be sarcastic in displaying my ignorance.
PD,
“Just because something is illegal doesn’t mean it is bad for you. Far more people do not undertand this.”
Are you implying that pot is good for you? As in any normally function person who doesn’t have a life threatening or terminal illness? Surely you must be joking…
Morphine is used in hospital situation but is illegal outside of that. Allergy meds are restricted to number of doses you can buy per month because of people using it to make illegal drugs at home.
Please, enlighten me as to the things are truly beneficial about pot aside from what I listed above. Remember to site your sources! I’ll make it easy on you, you don’t have to adhere to… Read more »
I think that any athlete that tests positive for an ILLEGAL substance should face charges. ILLEGAL means ILLEGAL thus making these athletes no different than common criminals
Alcohol before age 21 is illegal. Are most college aged students criminal then?
Jeez man, put the Nixon biography down.
This is the stupidest comment I have ever read.
Why is that COLLEGE SWIMMER? You do the crime, you do the time. Have you ever heard that before or are you just an ignorant, small minded leftist?
Good troll, but a little overboard Boss. It’s called subtlety. Unless you are serious. In which case, I would urge you to wait til puberty to post/start forming political opinions.
Weed is very common in college athletics as a whole. This rule won’t change anything about how college athletes approach their drug use. I know at my University (a div 1 program even) the very night after we get our test from the NCAA or University there is always a party with drugs. This is just the NCAA making another stupid rule change to a rule nobody pays attention to anyway.