By Jim Higdon, co-founder of Cornbread Hemp

Drug testing for THC in expert sporting activities is nearly useless, as it ought to be — but not very. It nonetheless lurks in the corners like a zombie, all set to assault anyone who details at it. The NBA has ended random drug tests, but it even now has a plan in location for testing players “for lead to,” which retains those people players from advocating for the entire elimination of drug tests in the league.

The NBA rightly tests for general performance-improving medicines that would give players an unfair edge, but THC is not a functionality-enhancing drug. The only purpose it’s banned in athletics is mainly because of a falsehood perpetrated by the federal govt that hashish is a single of the most risky prescription drugs in the planet. It is not.

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For many years, sports activities leagues have completed the filthy perform of hashish prohibition by insisting that THC is inconsistent with experienced athletics, when almost nothing could be further from the real truth. If the NBA imposed a zero-tolerance policy for cannabis use nowadays, there would not be enough players for a full game.

Some latest estimates counsel that as lots of as 85% of NBA players use cannabis, nonetheless the NBA nevertheless perpetuates the charade that it operates a THC-absolutely free place of work. It does not.

All people knows this. But continue to, the leagues and gamers are locked in a perpetual dance of trying to keep up the visual appeal of the THC ban, where by players have each and every attainable option to dodge the consequences of that ban, as lengthy as they really don’t talk out.

This wink-and-nod procedure has run its system. Legal marijuana jurisdictions are no lengthier the exception to the rule. They are the dominant norm in The us these days. Every single crew of every sporting activities league is dependent in a city with some kind of legal THC — even these that engage in in states with no legal cannabis.

The Nationwide Soccer League has 32 groups. Of all those, 14 enjoy property games in a point out with lawful recreational marijuana, 11 in states with clinical marijuana, and 7 in states with no lawful marijuana — the Cowboys, the Texans, the Falcons, the Packers, the Colts, the Titans, and the Panthers.

Big League Baseball has 30 teams. Of individuals, 16 play property games in a condition or province with authorized recreational marijuana, 10 in states with professional medical marijuana, and 4 in states with no authorized marijuana — the Brewers, the Braves, the Rangers, and the Astros.

The Countrywide Basketball Association has 30 teams. Of all those, 14 perform residence online games in a point out or province with lawful recreational marijuana, eight in states with medical marijuana, and 8 in states with no lawful marijuana — the Bucks, the Hornets, the Mavericks, the Spurs, the Rockets, the Hawks, the Grizzlies, and the Pacers.

Similar: Pucks & Pot: How The NHL Became A Pioneer In Professional Sports activities Hashish Use

The National Hockey League has the best exposure to legal hashish of any league because of the quantity of teams enjoying property online games in Canada, where hashish is absolutely lawful. Of the 32 teams in the NHL, 22 perform residence online games in a point out or province with lawful recreational marijuana, 7 in states with health care cannabis, and only 3 in states with no authorized marijuana — the Hurricanes, the Stars, and the Predators.

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But here’s the factor: even in the 14 states with no authorized marijuana, THC is however lawful if it is derived from hemp. It’s been that way at any time because the passage of the 2018 Farm Invoice. As very long as the THC will come from the hemp plant with no extra than .3% THC and is made into items that also do not exceed .3% THC, then that THC is legal.

And whilst .3% does not sound like considerably THC, it’s ample to demonstrate up on a drug examination, and that threatens the occupation security of any employee subject to THC drug tests. Which is not correct for the reason that hemp-derived THC is legal underneath federal law — even for the players of the Dallas Cowboys and Atlanta Hawks, which are based mostly in states with no legal marijuana.

Related: You Will not Feel These Previous Professional Athletes Played Stoned

No employee in The usa should really face implications for screening beneficial for a authorized material applied outside the house of the workplace. And it’s not just skilled athletes residing below this hypocritical cloud. Tens of millions of People, from nurses to truck drivers, are frightened of shedding their work if they examination good for THC right after employing legal hemp solutions.

At Cornbread Hemp, our mission is to improve our customers’ quality of daily life. And these out-of-date drug test insurance policies in opposition to THC are hurdles to that mission. For that reason, we are doing anything in our electricity to teach and advocate for ending THC tests in the office, starting with professional athletics.

Related: Cannabis And Athletes – What You Should Know

We can no for a longer time lie to ourselves about THC. It’s as frequently applied as ibuprofen, perhaps additional so. Sustaining the fiction that qualified sporting activities are THC-no cost is just an act of denial that we can no for a longer time afford to pay for.

It is very long previous time for sports leagues to accept that their players use THC in means that do not impact their place of work overall performance, as a substitute of demanding that their players keep on being silent so that the league can proceed its drug testing charade. It is time to finish THC drug screening in specialist sporting activities.

Jim Higdon is co-founder of Cornbread Hemp. He is a native of Kentucky, and holds degrees from Centre Higher education, Brown College, and Columbia College. Jim printed Cornbread Mafia in 2012, which led to a journalism profession covering Kentucky for the Washington Article and hashish coverage for POLITICO. 

This posting initially appeared on Benzinga and has been reposted with authorization.