Olympic Rules on Marijuana Use

So, alright. Yes, we know the stringent rules the Olympics poses on its athletes.

The Olympics and their regulations on marijuana use are based on the World Anti Doping Agency. Accordingly, the World Anti Doping Agency lists marijuana as a banned substance alongside hardcore narcotics such as heroine and cocaine. That, in and of itself is a glaring inconsistency. Weed and a narcotic like heroine are not the same of type of drug.

Moreover “doping” implies ingesting a substance that enhances performance. If you’ve ever smoked weed or eaten an edible, you’ll know that weed is no performance enhancer; it’s actually the opposite. I remember the first time I had one two many weed brownies a couple of years ago. I was knocked out the whole damn weekend. All did was sleep, wake up and drink water. In that order. If anything, being under the influence of marijuana would have sabotaged Sha’Carri Richardson’s performance at the Olympic Trials…and we all saw: Sha’Carri KILLED it!

Moreover, athletes undergo drug tests only during competition, not during training. For me, it stands to reason that I can use performance enhancing drugs while I train, but as long as I stop use when I compete – then I’m fine? Alright Mr. Phelps, was that your secret to going unnoticed so long?

Again, we know the rules on banned substances when you’re an athlete. However, the rules are archaic, out of touch and quite frankly, need a revisit.

The Mitigating Circumstances

Mitigating circumstances are the factors that lessen the severity or culpability of an illegal act.

When I first see the headline on the blogs that Sha’Carri Richardson failed the drug test, there’s an awful feeling that sinks to the bottom of my stomach.

Admittedly, I was the first to judge: “Girl, what did you do?”

Another thought: “Was that black girl magic really the steroids?”

I’m thinking as blacks in a competitive sport, vying for the Olympics: “We can’t get caught up!“

I was angry at her wasting away an amazing opportunity!

Then – we get the facts.

Facts are – she smoked weed. Weed? Marijuana? Ganja? Mary Jane?

Man, you would have thought it was Meth, Cocaine, Crack, or most importantly and crucially – performance enhancing drugs like steroids. I’m thinking you’ve got to be kidding. More shocking to me, is that marijuana is still tested for and still part of the banned substances. Child please, aren’t most of us smoking? To compound things – Sha’Carri was smoking to cope with the loss of her biological mother. I lost my mother more than 15 years ago and I WISH I was smoking back then to ease the insurmountable pain that pressed against my chest every single morning that I had to deal with the loss.

Sha’Carri smoking to deal with a significant loss isn’t cheating or trying to gain an advantage; it’s being human. There are mitigating circumstances. Unfortunately for this promising athlete – the Olympics and it’s history of racism will not accept the mitigating circumstances that would and can drive young woman to make a mistake.

The Olympics and The History of Racism

My conclusion? This is racist. America is using the Olympics as a vehicle to yet again show us this country’s racist origins. Sha’Carri’s situation is just another symptom of America’s racism.

For those of you reading this and thinking: “They always play the race card” -of course we do. From stealing a whole country from the indigenous people already here with some bullshit “Manifest Destiny” to enslaving another race, racism is rooted in the very inception of what America is as a country. How can we not see issues through the lens of race when our experience as people of color in this country is defined by the very issue you ask us to ignore; race?

The Glaring Inequities

The glaring inequities surrounding treatment of black and white athletes are unmistakable and quite frankly, insulting. Sha’Carri broke a rule and now her chances for competing in the Olympics are all but obsolete. A dream not only deferred, but ripped from her very hands over an understandable happenstance. Michael Phelps broke the same rule though. His mistakes were more egregious and calculating though as he was looking to gain an advantage with his use of DDP – which enhances performance. Unlike Sha’Carri though, Phelps’ dream remains intact as he keeps the gold medals he’s “earned.”

Additionally, we see The Olympics and their rules that serve to make it harder for athletes of color to complete. Sha’Carri is the most recent casualty. Caster Semenya, who wasn’t allowed to complete because as a intersex cisgender woman, her testosterone levels were too high. Christine Mboma and Beatrice Maslingi, both from Namibia, would suffer similar fates – though these two have the fastest running records in the world, their testosterone levels disqualify them. It doesn’t ring as fair. It feels as if we’re cherry picking to get as many of them out of the running as we can.

The Olympics’ recent and even more ridiculous rule that swimming caps made for natural black hair have been rejected by The International Swimming Foundation, citing the caps do not fit the natural form of the head. So a cap that fits the head form a black person with natural hair isn’t natural? This rule is clearly an attack on inclusivity.

Symptomatic of Racism

Again, Sha’Carri Richardson’s treatment and the handling of so many black athletes paired with the double standards serves as an illustration of the continued racism that plague our country. These policies seek to target athletes of color and yes, are symptomatic of racism. However, both fortunately and unfortunately for us as blacks in this country; this is nothing we’re unfamiliar with.

From the various voter restriction legislation created in states like Georgia and Texas to what we’re experiencing now in the case of the Olympics, the rules have been always constructed to make things harder for people of color to thrive on an even playing field. One thing’s quite apparent -these laws & rules that are weaponized to keep blacks from spaces that are deemed we don’t belong; these are symptomatic of racism. Black voices and achievement obviously threaten the agenda of the racist, and as such stumbling blocks consistently litter pathways to success.

One thing’s for sure though – people of color, we will continue to persist. By any means necessary.

Blissfully Single and Yours Friends,