Canadian university athletes will no longer be drug-tested for cannabis

Nearly two years after cannabis was legalized in Canada, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport has made a change to how cannabis anti-doping rules are applied to university student-athletes.

Any athlete who competes only in U SPORTS or Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association events will no longer be tested for cannabis.

ADVISORY - Cannabis Removed from In-Competition Analysis for Student-Athlete Samples

The CCES has made changes to how cannabis anti-doping rules are applied for student-athletes. #CleanSport

➡️ https://t.co/TS2aiWlgav@USPORTSca @CCAAsportsACSC pic.twitter.com/Xfs89fTN6v

— CCES (@EthicsInSPORT) August 20, 2020

However, the revised protocol does not apply to athletes who are included in their sport’s national athlete pool.

Athletes who are competing in non-U SPORTS or non-CCAA events, like another organization’s national championship or an international event, will still need to follow the World Anti-Doping Agency’s rules as well.

Those rules state that cannabis is still on the prohibited list.

Historically, cannabis cases in U SPORTS and CCAA have been unrelated to performance enhancement – rather, they are inadvertent violations caused by the fact that cannabis is only prohibited in-competition and can take 30 days to clear from a human body,” said a statement from the CCES.

“As a result, the CCES was motivated to use the flexibility allowed within the Code to develop the new protocol for student-athletes who meet the criteria.”

The CCES has long advocated for the removal of cannabis from the WADA’s prohibited list and these changes in Canada reflect a shifting societal view of how to manage cannabis education and harm reduction.

Student-athletes will still be subject to any conduct or sport-related codes put in place by their institutions.