In a decision which will reverberate throughout the sports industry, the NCAA announced a major change with college players and marijuana.
Cannabis has been scientifically proven successful to help with sports injuries, inflammation, and chronic pain. The American Medical Association and the federal Health and Human Services department has both agreed it has medical benefits. But the professional and amateur sports industry has not be a fan. But things might be making a major turn. Today, the NCAA upends college sports with marijuana change…and is it just the first step?
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College sports are a huge part of American culture with about a third of the country being a fan. Today, the NCAA Division I council voted to remove use of cannabis products from the banned drug class for championships and postseason participation in football. Football is a very tough sport on the body, but the decision was based on a variety of factors.
The NCAA Division I council voted to remove use of cannabis products from the banned drug class for championships and postseason participation in football. Any penalties currently being served by student-athletes who previously tested positive for cannabinoids will be discontinued.
Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman said in a statement cannabis products “do not provide a competitive advantage.”
“The council’s focus is on policies centered on student-athlete health and well-being rather than punishment for cannabis use,” he continued.
The vote came after their committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports recommended that each of the three divisional governance bodies introduce and adopt legislation that would remove cannabinoids from the list of banned drug classes.
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This could be the sign things are changing. College sports a soft $14+ billion industry, professional sports industry, based on the Best-Howard Model is somewhere between $471 billion to $1+ trillion.
