In an era where cannabis use is becoming normalized, a positive marijuana test just cost U.S. long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall her national indoor title.
US Anti-Doping Agency announced on Tuesday that Davis-Woodhall, 23, served a one-month suspension and had her national indoor title stripped after testing positive for THC, a chemical found in cannabis, marijuana and hashish, earlier this year. Her positive test resulted from a sample collected in-competition at the 2023 USATF Indoor Championships on February 17, the same day she won the track-and-field title.
While THC typically results in a three-month ineligibility period, Davis-Woodhall’s suspension was reduced to one month since her “use of cannabis occurred out-of-competition” and was “unrelated to sport performance,” the agency said.
World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) considers cannabis as a prohibited substance. However, the agency claims it “seeks input on each year’s updated version of the Prohibited List.”
The ban on cannabis has been an ongoing topic of debate, ignited especially following the U.S. Olympic trials in 2021 when track star Sha’Carri Richardson had her title stripped and was forced to sit out of the Olympics due to a positive test.
“USADA has advocated and will continue to advocate to WADA, the rule maker, to treat marijuana in a fairer and more effective way to identify true in-competition use,” the statement continued.
Earlier this month, the NBA announced it had updated its marijuana policy and no longer would test for marijuana, according to a tentative deal between the league and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA).
Should USTF do the same?
