After being an issue for years, the NCAA is making a change to its longstanding and stringent testing policies for marijuana. According to college football writer Chris Vainni, the NCAA will increase the THC threshold level from 35 to 150 nanograms per milliliter if a student-athlete were to have the drug in their systems.
A decision was made this week at the organizations "Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports" meeting
The NCAA is going off the threshold levels that are set by the World Anti-Doping Agency. The current rules state that if an athlete were to fail one drug test, it's an automatic half-year suspension, but with the new policies in place, athletes can fail multiple tests determined by a number of different factors and will not automatically lose long-term eligibility, as long as they follow the universities guidelines and programs.
"Reconsidering the NCAA approach to cannabis testing and management is consistent with feedback from the 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 new policies look like this, if an athlete were to test positive for the substance for the first time, it is no loss of eligibility if the school they play at will provide a "management and education" plan for the athlete.
If a second test were to occur, it would result in the same outcome, but the athlete could miss up to 25% of the regular season. If the athlete is still testing positive, that's the time and point when the athlete will be in jeopardy of losing more than 50% of their regular season.
An example of how harsh the rules were before the change in hear by the NCAA is when two UCF players were suspended for six games for testing positive for marijuana back in 2017.
Let's hope that this new policy will keep cases like this from happening and running kids' futures over a drug that's not as dangerous as alcohol, especially if you look at the number of sexual assaults that occur on college campuses due to underage drinking.
Follow Jasper Jones on Twitter: @jonesj2342
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram