As of February 22nd 2023, the NCAA has started cracking down on marijuana use in college athletes. The NCAA has tested for marijuana before championship events since 1986—despite the fact that it’s non-performance enhancing—but has just lowered the requirement for a positive result from 15 nanograms/milliliter to five nanograms/milliliter.
What does that mean for college athletes? Marijuana use will be much more easily detectable through urine testing. Why? Recent NCAA studies have shown that marijuana use among athletes is on the rise, and even though it doesn’t affect their performance, it’s still a federally illegal substance and could indicate substance abuse issues.
Plus, testing technology has improved greatly since 1986. When the NCAA first started testing, they couldn’t distinguish between secondhand smoke and direct inhalation. Now, scientist can tell the difference between first- and second-hand smoke at a threshold of just five ng/mL.
Due to the fact that marijuana has not been shown to have any performance-enhancing benefits, however, the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports (CSMAS) has recommended that the penalty for marijuana usage be shorted from a full-season suspension to a half-season suspension.
If this change is approved by the NCAA, the change in penalty for a positive test will be effective beginning next August.
Read more about the NCAA’s official marijuana policy here.
The proposed new penalty structure:
- First positive test: No loss of eligibility if the school provides a management plan and education for the student-athlete.
- Second positive test: No loss of eligibility if the school provides additional management and education and confirms the student-athlete was compliant with the original management and education plan. However, the student-athlete must be withheld from 25% of regular-season contests if they were not compliant with the original management and education plan.
- Third positive test: No loss of eligibility if the school provides additional management and education and confirms the student-athlete was compliant with the previous two treatment and education plans. However, the student-athlete must be withheld from 50% of regular-season contests if they were not compliant with the previous management and education plan.
“These adjustments to the NCAA drug testing program were approved after careful consideration and extensive discussion of the recommendations made by the Drug Testing Subcommittee, which has been meeting since last fall,” said Dr. Stephanie Chu, Colorado team physician and CSMAS chair. “The updated cannabis testing policies create a clear pathway for student-athletes to participate in education and management programs specific to their needs at the campus level.”
