The term “doping” refers to the use of prohibited drugs in sports competitions. For this article, we’ll be focusing on doping during the Olympics. In order to keep the Olympics clean and to protect athletes from potentially harmful drugs, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) prohibited the use of anabolic steroids. Drug testing is required in the Olympics as well as other international competitions, which is usually performed through a urine or blood sample. Anyone caught with anabolic steroids will be disqualified. One of the most recent controversies surrounding Olympic drug policies was the suspension of American sprinter, Sha’Carri Richardson, for testing positive for marijuana. This incident has since raised the question: what drugs should and should not be allowed in the Olympics?
According to the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency), there are three criteria for a drug to be on the banned list. Out of these three criteria, they have to fulfill at least 2 out of 3 of the following to be considered as an illicit drug:
Potential to enhance performance or sport
Potential health risk to the athlete
Violates the “spirit of sport”
Marijuana would fall under the second category from the criteria listed above. In 2011, WADA published a scientific journal wherein they stated that cannabis has the potential to “alleviate stress experienced before and during competition” which would enable athletes to “better perform under pressure”. Alain Conois -- a sports science director at the University of Quebec -- argued that the data is not sufficient to warrant a ban on the drug. He explains that although anxiety levels do go down, marijuana is actually shown to reduce performance in terms of physiological performance. According to a research done by Conois himself on the impact of marijuana on sports, the drug actually hindered certain physiological responses that are vital to high athletic performance such as: decreasing strength and balance; and increasing blood pressure. While the paper did not discuss marijuana’s effects on anxiety, Conois reasoned that the negative physiological effects induced would counteract any positive effects hence the notion that marijuana would improve athletic performance holds “no merit”.
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