Pubdate: Thu, 22 Sep 2005
Source: Press, The (New Zealand)
Copyright: 2005 The Christchurch Press Company Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.press.co.nz/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/349
Author: Coen Lammers
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)

BAN HIGHLIGHTS CANNABIS ISSUE

Vilimoni Delasau has been caught in a clash of cultures and his positive 
drugs test has highlighted the dilemmas sporting bodies and anti-doping 
agencies face because of cannabis use.

Canterbury's Fijian wing was banned for a year from international rugby by 
the Fijian Rugby Union after testing positive after Fiji's 91-0 loss to the 
All Blacks at Albany on June 10.

Delasau received a slap on the wrist from the New Zealand Rugby Union, a 
two-match ban and a $500 fine, but the FRU decided to throw the book at its 
international to "send a clear message".

The discrepancies in those verdicts clearly illustrates the gulf between 
the two nations in regard to cannabis.

In New Zealand, a substantial group, which includes members of Parliament, 
insists on legalising the drug to free valuable police resources for more 
serious offences.

Even the New Zealand Sports Drug Agency (NZSDA) has argued for years to 
take cannabis and other social drugs, like party pills, off the World 
Anti-Drug Agency (Wada) list of banned substances.

The Fijian authorities, on the other hand, take a very grim view of 
cannabis use. Only a few years back, the Government toughened its laws on 
the social drug, classifying cannabis as an A-class drug and attaching jail 
terms for possession of the drug.

Unfortunately for Delasau, the wing got caught while on international duty, 
and as result was punished twice, by his New Zealand employers and his home 
union. It will be impossible to determine whether Delasau put the drug in 
his system while in the Fijian camp as cannabis traces remain in the blood 
for weeks.

It does appear slightly odd that a nation which has mindnumbing sessions of 
kava at the centre of its society, brings out the sledgehammer to squash 
cannabis users.

Delasau appears to have fallen into a legal, cultural and religious abyss 
created by cannabis.

NZSDA boss Graham Steel yesterday acknowledged cannabis was still illegal 
in this country, but reiterated his stance that he would rather target 
"real cheats".

Steel added his concern over cannabis use among young people but does not 
perceive it as a performance-enhancing substance.

Other "experts" do not agree, including one rugby player on Radiosport 
yesterday, vowing that "a cone before kick-off" turns him into Jerry Collins.

Steel and like-minded administrators in other nations may be eager to save 
time and money if Wada would alter its banned list, but they might be 
fighting a losing battle.

Whether they like it or not countries like Fiji, who are entitled to have 
completely different cultural values, are also part of the international 
community and will be hard to persuade to think otherwise.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom