# Pot Bust



## Lelandjt (Sep 11, 2008)

Hahaha: Lauren Mulwitz tests positive for THC - VeloNews.com
What a joke that they still have pot on their banned sustance list. USAC headquarters is in Colorado where pot is as legal as alchohol. The race took place in California where anyone can get a medical marijuana card. I bet this chick is really gonna re-evaluate her lifestyle after having to give up that 8th place and go to doping education.

Prior to racing in MTB nationals (in Mammoth, CA) this year I called USAC to ask if pot was still banned considering the legality in the relevant locations (I live in CO) and no one there knew. I missed the podium and wasn't tested. A friend podiumed in the pro class and was tested but never heard anything back and he/she/they definitely had it in their system.

Of course I remember Delbosco and Houseman having a National Champs and World Cup taken away for THC but that was a decade ago when it was illegal. Get with the times USAC. Is life in The Springs that isolating? I wouldn't know, 15 years in CO and I've never gone down there. All Christian conservative and military and sh*t.


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## wgscott (Jul 14, 2013)

It is still illegal everywhere in the US according to federal laws.

Kind of odd they test for this, given that it is extremely unlikely to be performance-enhancing.

Then again, I have never fully understood why it is legal to have performance-enhancing bicycle equipment, but not performance-enhancing drugs.


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## Lelandjt (Sep 11, 2008)

^Sort of. The justice department has said that they won't interfere in states where it's legal. If you don't enforce a law it kind of doesn't exist so I'd argue it's federally legal in CO and WA and for medical card holders in all the medical marijuana states. If it's legal to consume in the state you're racing in, living in, and the sanctioning body is based in and it doesn't increase performance.......why is it banned? Also, how did they catch this chick but my friend who must have pissed green hasn't heard anything 2 months later?


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## ibericb (Oct 28, 2014)

Lelandjt said:


> ... I'd argue it's federally legal in CO and WA and for medical card holders in all the medical marijuana states.


Uh, no. It's called Federal supremacy, and it's covered in the Constitution (Article Six). The Justice department enforcement policy is one of prioritization, and is that of the current administration. That could change at any moment. The current DOJ policy is detailed and explained here. The attendant Federal law on marijuana is very clear, even if it is screwed up.

Cannabis is banned by WADA and in turn USADA only for use "in competition". It is not tested for out of competition. It is explained by USADA here. See "S8. Cannabinoids" near the bottom. Cannabinoids are also on the NCAA banned substances list. In 2013 WADA raised the threshold level ten-fold from 15 ng/ml to 150 ng/ml. I believe in 2015 the USADA threshold is 180 ng/ml. Just to put that into perspective, according to NORML experts one has to be a fairly dedicated user to reach that level.


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## love4himies (Jun 12, 2012)

I don't think sports wants stoned athletes zooming down mountains at 60mph while in competition. May not have a good outcome.


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## DrSmile (Jul 22, 2006)

There was an article about cycling high in Bicycling recently that seemed rather nonchalant on pot use. Just because it's legally tolerated doesn't mean you should be out on public roads. Somehow that distinction has been missed. Toke up all you want inside your house, but don't ride around stoned in your neighborhood!


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## ibericb (Oct 28, 2014)

That distinction hasn't been missed by Colorado or Washington legislators. In both states there is a legal limit for THC in blood, just like alcohol, above which it is illegal to operate a vehicle. In both CO and WA that level is 5ng/ml, which is 1/36th of the current threshold amount for the USADA action (180 ng/ml). Regardless of marijuana's legal status, pretty much all states prohibit drugged driving.


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## Local Hero (Jul 8, 2010)

It sucks this girl got busted but rules are rules. Moving forward, this rule is ripe for change.


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## wgscott (Jul 14, 2013)

DrSmile said:


> There was an article about cycling high in Bicycling recently that seemed rather nonchalant on pot use. Just because it's legally tolerated doesn't mean you should be out on public roads. Somehow that distinction has been missed. Toke up all you want inside your house, but don't ride around stoned in your neighborhood!


In my neighborhood (Santa Crud mountains), it isn't the bicyclists I am worried about. It is the car drivers.


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## .je (Aug 25, 2012)

love4himies said:


> I don't think sports wants stoned athletes zooming down mountains at 60mph while in competition. May not have a good outcome.


Welll... remember this? IOC Strips Gold From Canadian After Drug Test 










Because now, Olympic snowboarding champion Ross Rebagliati touts pot as performance enhancing drug | National Post He wants to be the largest medical marijuana producer in Canada. Ross' Gold - We've got what you need

Ahem..


> “You get in a zone where you can give it a 110%.”
> 
> Andrea Giuffrida, an associate professor at the University of Texas, says cannabidiol — or CBD — another chemical compound present in marijuana, may, in isolation, boost the production of endorphin-like molecules during prolonged exercise.


I don't smoke, so I offer that only as data of why it might be used, and banned. I'm sure USAC and the other athletic orgs don't want to be seen to tacitly endorse pot use, especially to young people, who are fans of star athletes.


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## ibericb (Oct 28, 2014)

It's not USAC - it's WADA and USADA, and other national anti-doping organizations that determine what's banned, when, and at what levels. USAC simply recognizes USADA's authority and rules, and maintains that members must abide by those rules.


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## thirstyman (May 6, 2007)

Just because something is legal (debatable as above) for the general population doesn't mean cycling has to allow it. As you know, Testosterone is a legal doctor-administered treatment for the general population but not for bike racers. Either get high and don't race or race and don't get high. But don't whine like a baby about it here.


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## love4himies (Jun 12, 2012)

.je said:


> Welll... remember this? IOC Strips Gold From Canadian After Drug Test
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I remember that, alright.
Didn't he get off because pot wasn't specifically on the ban list at the time he got caught???


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## .je (Aug 25, 2012)

love4himies said:


> I remember that, alright.
> Didn't he get off because pot wasn't specifically on the ban list at the time he got caught???


He got to keep his medal.
Now look what he's done with his life, he's really moved on from the positive drug test at the Olympics thing.

No wait, it's his the basis of his _entire life_ and career, isn't it?


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## Ryder's (Oct 18, 2013)

thirstyman said:


> Just because something is legal (debatable as above) for the general population doesn't mean cycling has to allow it. As you know, Testosterone is a legal doctor-administered treatment for the general population but not for bike racers. Either get high and don't race or race and don't get high. But don't whine like a baby about it here.


Nice hand grenade. No one here is whining like a baby, actually it's been a rather adult like discussion.


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## ibericb (Oct 28, 2014)

This thread prompted me to go look up the WADA stats on test results for 2014. Across all sports, testing for cannbinoids, which is in-competition only, returned 73 adverse analytical findings out of 3079 total adverse findings, leading to cannabinoids being the issue in 2% of the cases where an adverse finding occurred. Interestingly, "enhancement of oxygen transfer" in 2014 was zero - no adverse findings associated with that class of banned substances.


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## Lelandjt (Sep 11, 2008)

Interesting that they raised the legal limit to something that sounds reasonable. Perhaps that's why my friend didn't hear back with a positive test result. He/she/they is a relatively light user but I know used the night before the race. Of course personal biology and metabolism will determine how much it takes and how long it lasts at that level. I guess the roadie girl has an unlucky metabolism or got REALLY stoned the night before.


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## ibericb (Oct 28, 2014)

I suspect the test is of urine for the metabolite THC-COOH. THC-COOH levels can persist in urine much longer than THC levels found in blood. For a regular user urine THC-COOH levels can get quite high, and can persist for weeks. See here for a discussion and comparison.


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## Lelandjt (Sep 11, 2008)

JamesEsony said:


> I am confused, What are you even talking about? I genuinely want to know.


Yes, you are new. Because you didn't quote a post we don't know who the "you" is.


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## Alaska Mike (Sep 28, 2008)

I would guess he wants to know far less than he wants to promote www.cbdFX.com. Of course, I could just be jaded.


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## BrewsnWeed (May 24, 2018)

I believe that some professionals just cannot and have no right to get high.


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## KoroninK (Aug 9, 2010)

Sports rules don't have to follow federal or state laws. In this case a great example would be Operation Puerto. Before 2012 doping was legal in Spain, but obviously banned by WADA. Thus you have the situation that we are currently in with Operation Puerto being a never ending case.


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## duriel (Oct 10, 2013)

I been testing this stuff for years, and I just can't seem to get any added performance. But I'll keep trying.


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## shermes (Jul 26, 2008)

duriel said:


> I been testing this stuff for years, and I just can't seem to get any added performance. But I'll keep trying.


Maybe you need to increase the dosage.


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## Alaska Mike (Sep 28, 2008)

I have a security clearance. 

I live in Alaska, where pot is "legal" and sold in dispensaries. The bike shop I ride for even sells Floyd's of Leadville CBD products.

I can't touch or be around any of it if I want to keep the clearance and, as an extension, my job. Simple as that. It's the deal I agreed to. Even the stuff that people say is undetectable. I can't take the chance in jeopardizing my ability to support my family.

I helped process more than one person out of the military who thought they could beat the testers. Now that I'm retired and on the civilian side with a fledgling career, I still won't take the chance- even though our drug testing is more like an annual intelligence test. Again, I made a deal and plan on sticking to it.

Would I be interested in trying some CBD products to see how they deal with chronic issues I have? Sure. I hate opioids. However, thanks to the laws currently in place, I have no options. Maybe in ten or so years, if they change.

Just because a Federal law isn't enforced does not mean it isn't still valid. It's all a question of resources and priorities. Jeff Sessions would love to drop the hammer on all of the states with legal weed. He isn't alone. However, with the opioid crisis and everything else happening, they just don't have the manpower. Priorities could change.

However, the fact is that these athletes signed to be held to the constraints of WADA code. Like me, they made a deal. To do X, you can't do Y, and certainly not Z. As with any game, there are boundaries. They were made aware of where to find the standards before they signed, if not briefed ad nauseam by those who feel drawing inside the lines is the best way to keep a sport/team afloat.


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