Pubdate: Sun, 29 Dec 2013
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2013 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Jason Blevins

ACCEPTANCE OF POT GROWS LIKE WEEDS

Global Doping Watchdogs Are Relaxing Stance  On Marijuana.

Anyone who's ever ridden a double chair or skied up on one of hundreds
of lean-to "smoke shacks" in ski area trees knows that marijuana and
skiing, and snowboarding, are inextricably linked.

Just don't ask anyone about it. Especially professional athletes
vying for the Winter Olympics, which will debut three new sports at
Sochi in February: ski and snowboard slopestyle and ski halfpipe. "I
don't do drugs." "I don't know anything about that." "Next question."
"I just can't be quoted talking about that, please."

Despite the sudden Olympic status of skiing's and snowboarding's most
freewheeling disciplines, global doping watchdogs are relaxing their
stance on marijuana. The World Anti Doping Agency this past May
increased the threshold for a positive marijuana test, raising the
amount of measurable THC - marijuana's psychoactive component-to 150
nanograms per milliliter of urine, a tenfold increase.

"The change to the threshold will mean that athletes using the
substance in competition will be detected while the chances of
detecting (nonprohibited) out-of-competition use are substantially
reduced. The threshold can be monitored and changed at any time,"
Julie Masse, the WADA communications director, said via email.

The agency still keeps marijuana on its prohibited list of drugs,
which is determined by meeting two of these three criteria: Is it
performance enhancing, does it pose a health risk or does it violate
the "spirit of the sport"?

The agency does not say which criteria qualifies for marijuana. But
Ross Rebagliati considers it an all natural performance enhancer.

The Canadian athlete won the first Olympic gold medal ever in
snowboarding (giant slalom), at Japan's 1998 Nagano Winter Games, but
event organizers stripped his gold after a drug test found marijuana
in his system. He said he had always smoked, but not during the months
before the Olympics. He had, however, attended a party where several
people smoked cannabis.

"So I tested positive," Rebagliati said, noting that the test found 17
nanograms of THC in a milliliter of his urine. By the recently revised
standards, Rebagliati would barely register.

After appealing the decision two times, Rebagliati won the gold medal
back, noting that the WADA had never listed marijuana as a banned
substance. The agency quickly added cannabinoids to its list of
prohibited drugs.

Now 42, Rebagliati is still riding. He runs Ross' Gold, an online
medical marijuana dispensary in British Columbia that offers 40
strains of platinum, gold, silver and bronze-potency weed.

Rebagliati said he smoked pot regularly when he trained.

"It helped me through the mundane hours of weightlifting in the gyms
six days a week. It motivated me to follow through with my goals," he
said.

It also helped him develop his riding as he pushed the then-nascent
sport of snowboarding to new heights.

"For an experienced person, it can really increase your focus and calm
your nerves," he said. "I can tell you firsthand that there's a lot of
nerves and you really have to have yourself together mentally when you
are on top of a heavy line. I believe quite powerfully that cannabis
allows you to realize what you can't do. It's not like alcohol, where
you feel invincible. You can analyze the risk at a higher level and
you can make a better decision with your heightened awareness. For an
experienced user- and I emphasize experienced user - if you are
charging hard, it can give you a brain check, make you more aware of
the risks and the opportunities."

Tanner Hall agrees with Rebagliati.

An outspoken freeskiing pioneer who considered making an Olympic run
for the Sochi Games but bailed after "all the bureaucratic
(expletive)," Hall has long cited the importance of marijuana use in
his skiing and in his recovery from several near-career-ending crashes.

In an interview with The Denver Post, the seven-time X Games gold
medalist blasted the idea that the WADA focused on marijuana.

"Drugs are stupid, dude. I know that. Let's keep it natural," Hall
said. "Under the FIS rules, you can drink as much alcohol as you can,
take crazy pills with a prescription. But if you happen to set that
little tree on fire and smell it, you're out. Think about that. Big up
to Washington and Colorado for leading the charge." 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D