Cannabis is now legal in Canada, but not for athletes

Today cannabis became a legal, regulated substance in Canada. However the CCES (Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport) has released a statement reminding Canadian athletes that, “they are still subject to the Canadian Anti-Doping Program (CADP), and that the use of cannabis under CADP is still banned.”

According to the CCES, substances are added to the prohibited list when they meet two of the following three criteria:

• Use of the substance has the potential to enhance performance;
• Use of the substance can cause harm to the health of the athlete; and
• Use of the substance violates the spirit of sport.

When it comes to CBD oil, the CCES says, “As of 2018, WADA no longer lists CBD as a prohibited substance. We would like to remind athletes that CBD oil often still contains some concentration of the banned substance tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Therefore, the use of CBD oil is at an athlete’s own risk.”

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Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-psychoactive derivative of cannabis. 

Cannabis is only prohibited in-competition, but athletes are still cautioned at its use out-of-competition. The time it takes for cannabis to clear someone’s system varies dramatically from person to person. So out-of-competition use can still show up in an in-competition test. In some other sports, athletes are advised to discontinue use for a month before competition, to be on the safe side.

In a 2017 CBC story, several athletes revealed that they didn’t see why cannabis should be on the prohibited list. The substance will remain banned in-competition for the foreseeable future.