Cannabis in Sports — NCAA, Pro Leagues & Olympics
The cannabis sports testing landscape has changed dramatically between 2019 and 2025. The NBA and MLB have removed cannabis from testing programs entirely. The NCAA removed cannabinoids from its banned list in June 2024. The NFL raised its cutoff so high that testing is effectively symbolic. WADA/Olympics remains the notable holdout.
Professional League Policies (2024–2026)
| League | Current Cannabis Policy |
|---|---|
| NCAA | Removed cannabinoids from banned list (June 2024). Previously raised threshold to 150 ng/mL (February 2022). |
| NFL | Threshold raised to 350 ng/mL (December 2024). Fines only, no suspensions. Testing window limited. |
| NBA | Cannabis permanently removed from testing program (2023 CBA). Players no longer tested for marijuana. |
| MLB | Cannabis removed from "drugs of abuse" list (2019). Treated like alcohol. |
| NHL | Cannabis never on banned list. Positive results trigger a health referral, not discipline. |
| UFC | Removed marijuana from banned list (December 2023). State athletic commissions may still impose rules. |
| WWE | Cannabis removed from Wellness Policy testing. WWE talent are no longer tested for marijuana under the WWE Talent Wellness Program. Positives from earlier programs no longer count toward suspension thresholds. |
| MLS | Follows WADA rules; cannabis banned in-competition. |
| WADA / Olympics | THC remains on banned list at 150 ng/mL threshold. CBD was removed in 2018. |
The NCAA Removal (June 2024)
The NCAA's June 2024 decision to remove cannabinoids from its banned substance list was a significant policy shift. The NCAA had been progressively liberalizing: in February 2022, it raised the cannabis threshold from 35 ng/mL to 150 ng/mL, aligning with the WADA in-competition threshold. In June 2024, it eliminated cannabinoids from the banned list entirely.
The NCAA's reasoning emphasized that cannabis is not a performance-enhancing drug and that testing resources were better directed at actual performance-enhancing substances. Individual schools and conferences may still have their own policies.
The NBA Removal (2023 CBA)
The NBA removed cannabis from its testing program as part of the 2023 collective bargaining agreement. Players are no longer tested for marijuana, and positive results from remaining testing are not disciplinable. This was a significant shift from the league's earlier position.
The Sha'Carri Richardson Case
The most public WADA/Olympic cannabis case was sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson in 2021. Richardson won the 100m at the U.S. Olympic Trials, tested positive for THC, received a one-month suspension from USADA, had her results disqualified, and missed the Tokyo Olympics. She publicly explained that she had used cannabis to cope with learning of her biological mother's death.
The case prompted widespread criticism of the WADA cannabis policy and calls for reform. WADA conducted a review in 2022 but maintained the ban, concluding that THC meets criteria for "health risk" and "spirit of sport" violation. Richardson returned to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
WADA's Position
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) sets rules for Olympic and most international competition. WADA prohibits cannabis in-competition at a threshold of 150 ng/mL (one of the higher thresholds in sports). WADA's rationale has three prongs:
- Cannabis is a "health risk to athletes"
- Cannabis violates the "spirit of sport"
- Cannabis has potential performance-enhancing effects in certain contexts
All three of these have been contested. The "spirit of sport" criterion is particularly controversial because it allows prohibition of substances that are neither performance-enhancing nor harmful on pure cultural grounds.
CBD was removed from the WADA prohibited list in 2018.
State Athletic Commissions
Some combat sports (boxing, MMA) are regulated at the state level through athletic commissions, which may impose their own cannabis rules even when the federation (UFC, Bellator, etc.) does not. The Nevada State Athletic Commission previously suspended fighters for cannabis but has liberalized significantly.
High School and College
High school athletic associations vary dramatically by state. Some test for cannabis, some do not. Individual school policies may differ from state association policies. College programs outside NCAA authority (club sports, intramurals) may follow different rules.
The Trajectory
The pattern is clear: nearly every major professional and collegiate sports organization has moved away from cannabis testing or dramatically relaxed thresholds since 2019. The exceptions are:
- WADA / Olympics — still bans cannabis, threshold unchanged
- Some combat sports at the state athletic commission level
- Some sports that are not highly commercialized or have strong anti-drug culture
The direction of change aligns with broader societal shifts in cannabis policy. Athletes at the professional level face dramatically less drug test risk from cannabis than they did five years ago.