Athletics has had its fair share of doping controversies over the years but nothing has united people in anger like the one-month ban that American sprinter She'Carri Richardson received yesterday because of a drugs test that showed the presence of cannabis in her system.
Richardson has revealed that she used cannabis to self-medicate after learning about the unexpected death of her birth mother. She had been given the news by a journalist during a press event, as she explained on the Today show yesterday.
Unlike the majority of dopers, Richardson will not appeal the ruling and has accepted her one-month ban. It's a massive blow to the Olympics as Richardson was a favourite to win the 100 metres and a superstar in the making. The Olympics will be a lesser spectacle without her.
Cannabis has been decriminalised in 18 US states and there's a broad consensus in America's blue states that weed is a mostly benign substance. Many American sportspeople came to Richardson's defense, and said they use marijuana to ease pain and anxiety. Anyone who has smoked pot would agree that it's not something that spurs one on to athletic heights. Wada prohibit substances that do two of the following three things:
- Enhance performance.
- Pose a health risk for athletes.
- Violate the spirit of sport.
There was astonishment in many sectors of liberal America over the ruling. It's not a crime to smoke weed in the state of Oregon, where Richardson consumed the cannabis. There are also very strong arguments that America's drug laws as inherently racist.
Decision to suspend Ms Richardson is SO patently unfair ! Those who made decision say it’s because it’s “the rule”. But THEY make, interpret, apply, and decide punishment re: “the rule”. When a rule is antiquated & unfair , it should be changed or dropped. This is case in point! https://t.co/2nCnQctISM
— Dr Harry Edwards (@drharryedwards) July 3, 2021
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez led a group of American congressman in formally asking USADA to waive its suspension of Richardson.
We worked with @RepRaskin and the Subcommittee on Civil Rights & Civil Liberties to formally ask @USAntiDoping to end Sha'Carri Richardson's suspension.
Their decision lacks any scientific basis. It's rooted solely in the systemic racism that's long driven anti-marijuana laws. pic.twitter.com/F28c5ScI1D— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) July 3, 2021
In instances like this, sport can out of touch with the rest of society. For the second time this summer, sport administrators seem to be displaying a lack of empathy to elite sportspeople dealing with emotional duress. Naomi Osaka walked away from the French Open because tournament organisers insisted she carry out obligatory media interviews after playing. Osaka said the interviews were impacting her mental health.
However there's one problem with the outcry, and it's in the first word of WADA's name. WADA is an international sports organisation. While American laws and norms on marijuana are increasingly liberal, cannabis is criminialised in the majority of the world. WADA review their drug bans every four years, and cannabis campaigners will have to make their case to WADA that the drug cannot aid performance. They have a great to case to make, especially where out-of-competition use is concerned. There's no doubt systemic racism is embedded deep in American antidrug laws but WADA is a global body.
It's cruel for She'carri Richardson but anti-doping laws can't be administered on a case-by-case basis, especially in athletics, where doping has been rife. The rules might be very unfair to Richardson, but waiving them in this instance opens up a Pandora's box that real dopers will use to their advantage.
It's fair to say WADA should reconsider its regulations on cannabis, but those changes must be driven by campaigners through a formal appeals process. Hopefully this heartbreaking episode will be the impetus for changing the laws around cannabis in sport.
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