World Anti-Doping Agency Raises In-Competition Threshold For Marijuana

Inadvertent inhaling at parties or the unwitting ingestion of a hash cookie "will no longer result in athletes being thrown out of the Olympics under a revision to the list of banned substances," according to Ashling O'Connor of the LONDON TIMES. The World Anti-Doping Agency, which administers the list, Monday "agreed to raise the in-competition threshold for marijuana from 15 nanograms of substance per millilitre of urine to 150ng/ml." While tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in cannabis, will remain on the prohibited list, "the relaxation of the rules reflects a growing sense of realism about its use as a social alternative to alcohol." Only introduced to the list in '04, it has never been banned out of competition, "suggesting its inclusion was more about image and less about performance" (LONDON TIMES, 5/14).