The NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports recommended legislation that would remove cannabis from the NCAA’s list of banned drug classes at all three divisions, the governing body announced Friday. The recommendation calls for a “robust educational strategy” for college athletes when it comes to cannabis.
The committee concluded that removing cannabis from the list of banned substances would accomplish the following:
Acknowledges the ineffectiveness of existing policy (banning, testing and penalizing).
Affirms the role of the NCAA drug-testing program to address only performance-enhancing substances.
Emphasizes the importance of moving toward a harm-reduction strategy that prioritizes education and support at the school level over penalties.
“Cannabis is not a performance-enhancing drug and that a harm-reduction approach to cannabis is best implemented at the school level,” The NCAA stated in a release following midweek meetings in Indianapolis.