Great news for athletes heading into 2018. The WADA (World Anti-Doping Authority) has removed CBD (Cannabidiol) from the list of prohibited substances
The WADA is the international governing body that supervises and manages drug testing in the Olympics as well as setting operational standards for anti-doping guidelines in many international sports events.
Of particular note are the many NFL and UFC athletes who use CBD both pre and post sports activity as both a protective and recovery treatment. Athletes have been lobbying the governing body for years, efforts have finally paid off and from January 2018 CBD will be allowed. THC remains prohibited.
In a statement from WADA:
“Annually, the Prohibited List review involves a very extensive stakeholder consultation process over the course of nine months,” said Director General Olivier Niggli in his official statement. “In reviewing the List, experts examine such sources as: scientific and medical research; trends; and, intelligence gathered from law enforcement and pharmaceutical companies in order to stay ahead of those that endeavor to cheat the system.”
How the technicalities work:
SECTION 8 : CANNABINOIDS
• The category Cannabimimetics, e.g. “Spice, JWH-018, JWH-073, HU210” was changed to “synthetic cannabinoids, e.g. Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other cannabimimetics”. The synthetic cannabinoids are one of the main classes of novel psychoactive substances that have constantly emerging new drugs and changing availability. The previous list of examples continues to be prohibited, but are currently used less commonly. “Other cannabimimetics” replaced these examples.
• Cannabidiol is no longer prohibited. Synthetic cannabidiol is not a cannabimimetic; however, cannabidiol extracted from cannabis plants may also contain varying concentrations of THC, which remains a prohibited substance.
