[ad_1]
The White House is betting on a meeting with the World Anti-Doping Agency to discuss restrictions on the loosening of cannabis use by athletes, after star sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson was dropped from the North Olympic team. American because he tested positive for marijuana.
The White House is seeking the meeting through the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy, which has a seat on the founding board of Wada, the international body responsible for anti-doping governance in world sport, including Olimpic games.
The board is scheduled to meet on Nov. 25, but the ONDCP told the Financial Times that, “if possible, the United States will ensure a prior discussion on [cannabis policy] within Wada ”.
The office said it intended to ask Wada about policies that restrict cannabis use, “including the timeline for testing and the basis for considering cannabis as a performance-enhancing drug.”
Wada did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The request comes a week after it was revealed that Richardson had tested positive for marijuana at U.S. trials in Oregon. The substance is legal for recreational use in the state, although it remains banned in some elite sports by rules established by Wada.
Richardson, a former favorite to win a women’s 100-meter gold medal, was suspended from the competition for a month, meaning she will miss the Tokyo Olympics, where she was expected to be a popular star.
Its suspension sparked a backlash from politicians and the American public about what some see as a policy incompatible with modern U.S. law. Nineteen states had completely legalized recreational marijuana use since last month, in accordance with the Marijuana Policy Project.
“Rules are rules,” dit U.S. President Joe Biden last week when asked about Richardson’s suspension. “Whether this should be kept that way is a different matter.”
A request by MoveOn.org, calling for Richardson to be reinstated to the U.S. Olympic team, garnered more than 560,000 signatures as of Friday.
Two members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Jamie Raskin and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, recently called on U.S. and world anti-doping officials to rescind Richardson’s suspension.
In a letter last week they argued that “banning marijuana while your organizations allow recreational use of alcohol and other drugs reflects anti-drug laws and policies that have historically been targeted at black and brown communities.”
Weekly newsletter
Marker is the Financial Times ’must-see new weekly report on the sports business, where you’ll find the best analysis of financial issues affecting clubs, franchises, owners, investors and global industry media groups. Sign up here.
In a letter to them on Friday, U.S. Anti-Doping Agency officials wrote that the agency “agrees that Ms. Richardson’s exclusion from the Tokyo Olympics is a heartbreaking situation and that the World Anti-Doping Agency rules on marijuana use need to change. ”
The United States is a major contributor to Wada’s annual budget and is expected to contribute more than $ 2.9 million by 2021, according to the agency’s website. The agency annually reviews its list of banned and restricted substances and methods, seeking input from all stakeholders in a review process starting this month, which is expected to conclude in the fall.
Richardson has said he accepts his suspension. “I know what I did. I know what I’m supposed to do and I’m allowed not to, and I still made that decision, ”he said. he said the Today Show last week. “I am not apologizing. I’m not looking for any empathy in my case. “
[ad_2]
Source link
