Pubdate: Sun, 28 Jun 2015
Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA)
Copyright: 2015 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.utsandiego.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/386
Note: Seldom prints LTEs from outside it's circulation area.
Author: Stefanie Loh

MARIJUANA BANNED BY MOST U.S. LEAGUES

The four major U.S. professional sports leagues prohibit marijuana 
use, though the NHL does not test for marijuana. Marijuana infraction 
policies vary from league to league but center around fines and suspensions.

Major League Baseball has a marijuana testing threshold of 18 
nanograms of THC per millimeter of urine, and the urine samples of 
all minor league players are tested for marijuana, among other drugs. 
Conversely, major league players are not tested for marijuana unless 
there is reasonable cause or a player is already in MLB's treatment program.

The NBA's threshold for marijuana testing is 15ng/ml - equal to the 
standard widely used for employment-based screenings. The first time 
a player tests positive for marijuana, he is entered into the NBA's 
marijuana program. A second violation results in a $25,000 fine, 
while the third violation brings a five-game suspension and every 
subsequent offense brings a suspension that's five games longer than 
the player's immediate preceding suspension.

The NFL last fall raised its marijuana testing threshold from 15 
ng/ml to 35 ng/ml. A first-time offender gets referred to the NFL's 
substance-abuse program. Subsequent violations result in a two-game 
fine, a four-game fine, a four-game suspension, a 10-game suspension 
and, ultimately, a one-year banishment.

That's why Cleveland Browns star receiver Josh Gordon will not play 
in the NFL this season. A positive marijuana test landed him in the 
NFL's substance-abuse program, and his most recent offense - testing 
positive for alcohol - resulted in his current yearlong suspension.

Chronic offenders are an issue for teams: They don't want a player on 
their roster to miss time because of substance-abuse problems.

"I think most teams now operate on a three-strike rule. If a guy has 
three failed tests, it shows he's not able to make the smart choice 
overall and can't understand how to manage his use of it so he can 
stay on the field," said former Browns General Manager Phil Savage, 
speaking generally because he left the Browns before Gordon was 
drafted and can't comment on that specific case. "That's a red flag. 
You don't want to draft a player who's not going to be available to you."

On the international level, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and the World 
Anti-Doping Agency prohibit marijuana only in competition - defined 
as the 12 hours leading up to an event and extending through the end 
of the event.

Both organizations' 150 ng/ml THC threshold makes it impossible for 
athletes to test positive via secondhand smoke, and is high enough 
that some experts  including Dr. Marilyn Huestis, the Chief of 
Chemistry and Drug Metabolism at the National Institute on Drug Abuse 
say no occasional cannabis smokers, and only about half of all 
frequent cannabis smokers, would ever test positive, thus rendering 
the threshold irrelevant.

"From my research, no occasional user is ever going to reach that, no 
matter what," Huestis said. "They could smoke until they went to 
compete and would never reach that. ... To me, that's not preventing 
people from using the drug and competing."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom