Adjusted Test To Mirror Threshold Set By World Anti-Doping Agency And Reflect Society’s Evolving View On THC
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NCAA Adjusts THC Test Threshold To Mirror Threshold Set By World Anti-Doping Agency And Reflect Society’s Evolving View
Executive Summary
Testing threshold on THC has been raised per Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports (CSMAS)
CSMAS also recommended that penalty structures be amended by each NCAA division.
Rapidly evolving public health and cultural views on cannabis could be influencing this pivot
Marijuana is not considered a performance enhancing substance.
Prioritizing education and developing a management plan for student-athletes with positive marijuana tests gaining momentum.
Proposed new penalty structure would remove competition ineligibility as a consequence, even for second and third positive tests— provided specific conditions are met.
Thirty-seven states and Washington, D.C., have legalized medicinal marijuana use and 17 states have legalized recreational use.
Per a 2017 NCAA substance use survey, marijuana use was higher among student-athletes who identified living in a state where it is legal for recreational or medical use (39% vs. 26% in states where it is not legal).
The same NCAA survey also noted that, at the sport level, marijuana use was highest among men (50%) and women (34%) lacrosse players.
According to an NCAA release last month, the NCAA is changing its cannabinoid testing policies. At its Feb. 22-23 meeting, the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports increased the THC threshold and recommended a reconfiguration of the penalty structure for student-athletes who test positive for THC.
CSMAS aligned with THC threshold levels established by the World Anti-Doping Agency, raising the threshold for student-athletes from 35 to 150 nanograms per milliliter. The threshold adjustment is effective immediately and applicable to drug tests administered in fall 2021 or later. Any future change to the NCAA threshold may occur in response to changes initiated by WADA and remain subject to CSMAS review and approval.
"Reconsidering the NCAA approach to cannabis testing and management is consistent with feedback from membership on how to better support and educate student-athletes in a society with rapidly evolving public health and cultural views regarding cannabis use," said Dr. Brian Hainline, the NCAA's chief medical officer.
"Marijuana is not considered a performance-enhancing substance, but it remains important for member schools to engage student-athletes regarding substance use prevention and provide management and support when appropriate."
The committee also recommended that each division consider changes to the current penalty structure for student-athletes who test positive for THC during NCAA drug testing. Drug testing penalties are legislated under NCAA bylaws, so each division will be required to separately adopt new legislation before changes are made.
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."
As a point of reference, NCAA Division I’s current NCAA drug-testing penalty structure for positive cannabinoid result includes ineligibility as a consequence, as follows:
“A student-athlete who, as a result of a drug test administered by the NCAA, tests positive for use of a substance in the banned drug classes cannabinoids or narcotics (in accordance with the testing methods authorized by the Board of Governors) shall be ineligible for competition during 50 percent of a season in all sports (50 percent of the Bylaw 17 maximum regular-season contests or dates of competition). The student-athlete shall remain ineligible from the time the institution is notified of the test result until the prescribed penalty is fulfilled and the student-athlete tests negative pursuant to the policies and procedures of the NCAA Drug-Testing Program.
If a student-athlete who previously tested positive for use of a substance in the banned drug classes cannabinoids or narcotics tests positive a second time for use of a substance in the banned drug classes cannabinoids or narcotics or if a student-athlete who previously tested positive for use of a substance in the banned drug classes cannabinoids or narcotics tests positive for use of a substance in a banned drug class other than cannabinoids or narcotics, the student-athlete shall subject to the penalties set forth in Bylaw 18.4.1.4.1.”
Compared to penalties for performance enhancing drugs, less severe consequences has been the trend for positive tests for "street drugs" like marijuana use— this trend goes back to CSMAS' special "Marijuana Summit" in December 2010. From that summit, CSMAS examined aspects of the NCAA marijuana policy, including medical marijuana and the penalty for a positive drug test. At the time, the committee recommended a reduction in the penalty for a marijuana positive drug test, as marijuana is not considered a performance enhancer, and not considered "cheating" in the same way as performance enhancing drugs. In addition, with a lesser sanction, CSMAS and the Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet noted there was more of an opportunity for member institutions to intervene and assist their student-athletes to correct the behavior. With this rationale in mind, the penalty for a first positive for street drug under NCAA drug testing protocols was eventually reduced in 2014 from a full season of ineligibility to 50% of a season.
According to a CNET article, 37 states and Washington, D.C., have legalized medicinal marijuana while 18 have legalized the use of marijuana recreationally; however, possession or sale of cannabis remains prohibited by federal statute.
From the NCAA’s 2017 National Study on Substance Use Habits of College Student-Athletes, NCAA student-athletes were surveyed about their usage and attitudes on marijuana:
Self-reported marijuana use is lower among student-athletes (25% use by inhaling or ingesting) than the non-athlete college population (33%, Core; 39%, MTF).
24% of student-athletes reported inhaling marijuana in the last year (compared with 22% reporting marijuana use in 2013).
11% of student-athletes reported using edible forms of marijuana.
77% of marijuana users reported doing so for social reasons. 19% said they use it for pain management.
Marijuana use was higher among student-athletes who identified living in a state where it is legal for recreational or medical use (39% vs. 26% in states where it is not legal).
At the sport level, marijuana use was highest among men (50%) and women (34%) lacrosse players.
Division III student-athletes continue to be the highest reported users of marijuana.
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