Following the suspension of athlete Sha’Carri Richardson from several Olympic events after testing positive for cannabis, President Biden suggested that rules banning Olympic athletes from competition because of cannabis could potentially shift going forward.
“The rules are the rules and everybody knows what the rules were going in,” Biden said. “Whether they should remain the rules is a different issue, but the rules are the rules.”
Biden’s statement came after Press Secretary Jen Psaki called Richardson an “inspiring young woman” but would not speak on whether or not the president supported the Olympics’ decision.
“This was an independent decision made by the US Anti-Doping Agency and not, not, a decision that would be made by the US government, as is appropriate,” Psaki said. “We will certainly leave them the space and room to make their decisions about anti-doping policies that need to be implemented.”
Psaki noted that Richardson has “gone through a lot personally,” that she “happens to be one of the fastest women in the world,” and that is an “important part of the story as well.”
A bipartisan group of Congress members criticized the decision on Friday and sent a letter to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and the Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), pushing them to “strike a blow for civil liberties and civil rights by reversing this course you are on.”
Biden has a history of opposing cannabis legalization, and as a senator, he often bagged legislation encouraging harsh penalties for drugs. While he has said that he supports decriminalization of cannabis, expunging prior records and respecting state rights in relation to cannabis legalization, his administration hasn’t delivered on those promises.
Though, the Biden administration has fired White House staffers over cannabis use, and Biden’s proposed 2022 budget keeps a block on recreational cannabis sales in Washington DC. The Biden administration said in an email to The Verge that the president continues to “strongly support DC statehood, under which the people of DC could make policy choices just like other states.”
Following the decision around Richardson, many conversations opened up around the use of cannabis by athletes, and if the ruling was fair. Specifically, the US Anti-Doping Agency says, “For something to be added to the…Prohibited List, it must meet two of the three inclusion criteria: a) it poses a health risk to athletes b) it has the potential to enhance performance and c) it violates the spirit of sport.”
WADA says it cannot take cannabis off the list because it still asserts its use meets at least two of the above criteria. The 2021 World Anti-Doping Code newly classified THC as a “Substance of Abuse” because it is frequently used in society outside of sports contexts.
However, American pro sports have drastically reduced their restrictions on cannabis over the years. The NFL raised the threshold for a positive test and eliminated suspensions and the NBC stopped random testing for cannabis in 2020.
The Olympic testing program increased the threshold for a positive test from 15 nanograms per milliliter to 150 ng/ml after the 2012 Olympics, explaining that the new threshold was to ensure in-competition use is detected, but note use during days and weeks before a competition. There is a three-month sanction for a positive test when an athlete can establish the drug was not used to enhance performance, and that can be reduced to one month if the athlete completes counseling.
Richardson’s ban is over before the start of the women’s 4×100 relay, so there is a chance she could be named to the team, but that pool is likely filled by athletes with a result from the trials, which Richardson does not officially have because of the suspension. Athletes have the right to appeal any positive tests, though according to sources close to the case via Associated Press, Richardson is not appealing her case.
In regard to Richardson and her suspension, Biden also said on July 3 that he was “really proud of her and the way she responded.”
