The NCAA Division I council made a historic decision on Tuesday, removing cannabis products from the banned substance list effective immediately. Each school has its own drug testing policies, but the NCAA conducts the testing for NCAA championships in all sports. Their penalties are much stricter and have impacted team personnel in the past.
In 2019, three football players from the Oklahoma Sooners were suspended for marijuana use before the College Football Playoff semifinal game, with the suspension extending into the following year. With 24 states legally allowing recreational marijuana use and even more permitting it medically, the NCAA has become more lenient as their rules have continuously evolved.
This change comes just as the college football season is about to start, with a new generation of players who are more radical than the last. Following the NBA’s removal of marijuana from its banned substances list last year, the NCAA has followed suit, aiming to avoid unnecessary bad press from lengthy suspensions of players in crucial games.
It will be interesting to see how much more lenient the NCAA will become over the next few years as social behaviors continue to evolve.
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