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UFC exec Marc Ratner asks NSAC to take softer stance on marijuana use

2K views 26 replies 18 participants last post by  Iuanes 
#1 ·
UFC exec Marc Ratner asks NSAC to take softer stance on marijuana use

by John Morgan on Mar 21, 2013 at 4:10 pm ET

LAS VEGAS – If UFC exec Marc Ratner has his way, fighters testing positive for marijuana following bouts in Nevada would be treated very differently than those who are busted for using performance-enhancing drugs.

During Thursday's meeting of the Nevada State Athletic Commission's Steroid and Drug Testing Advisory Panel, Ratner asked that the commission evaluate how it handles fighters who test positive for marijuana.

"Society is changing," Ratner said. "It's a different world now than when I was on the commission. States are legalizing marijuana, and it's becoming more and more of a problem with fighters testing positive (for marijuana) and the metabolites."

Ratner, a former NSAC executive director, now serves as the UFC's Vice President of Regulatory Affairs. His comments at Thursday's meeting were given during the public comment portion of the agenda.

In 2012, the NSAC suspended welterweight Nick Diaz for one year when his post-UFC 143 drug test was positive for marijuana metabolites. The failed test was Diaz's second such result in Nevada after also testing positive for marijuana metabolites in 2007.

More recently, the NSAC suspended boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. for nine months and fined him $900,000, which represented 30 percent of his $3 million purse for a September 2012 fight with Sergio Martinez.

Ratner suggested the NSAC needs to reconsider its position on such cases.

"Right now, I just cannot believe that a performance-enhancing drug and marijuana can be treated the same," Ratner said. "It just doesn't make sense to the world anymore, and it's something that I think has to be brought up."

NSAC Steroid and Drug Testing Advisory Panel member Dr. James Nave seemed to agree with Ratner's comments and recommended the board schedule a future meeting to address the issue.

"I remember when President (Bill) Clinton was president," Nave said. "Someone asked him if marijuana should be legal, and he said, 'Absolutely not. If it was, my brother would be dead.' That's not been that long ago, and look how fast society has changed on that.

"Although when you're an old man like me, you don't like society to change as fast as it should, the bottom line is if you're a smart old man, which I hope I am, you realize society is changing, and you better get your mindset around that. ... The bottom line is, I think that that's a big issue. It's an [issue] that we need to have our mind set on."

The UFC often acts as its own regulating body when competing in foreign territories lacking an official sanctioning organization. Such was the case earlier this month at UFC on FUEL TV 8 in Japan, where Alex Caceres tested positive for marijuana metabolites following his decision win over Kyung Ho Kang.

Following his positive test, UFC officials suspended Caceres for six months and required him to attend drug rehabilitation classes.

The NSAC's Steroid and Drug Testing Advisory Panel is tentatively scheduled to meet again in approximately 30 days. However, an official agenda has not yet been scheduled and there is no guarantee the panel will address marijuana use among combat-sports athletes at that time.

Any suggested changes to the commission's policy would then have to be approved by the NSAC before becoming an official part of the state's regulations.

http://www.mmajunkie.com/news/2013/...s-nsac-to-take-softer-stance-on-marijuana-use
 
#3 ·
At the very least the commissions should honor medical marijuana licenses, it is possible to be both a professional fighter and have anxiety issues. And frankly the focus should be on camps during steroid cycling periods not pre/post fight tests as they are not nearly as effective.
 
#4 ·
I'm gonna start Drunk Fight League, where the contestants fight each other in "weight classes" based on the amount of alcohol in their blood... that would be sweet. :drink02:
 
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#5 ·
I'm in between on this - it shouldn't be viewed or punished the same as 'roids etc., but it can also be an aid to a fighter. It's not an aid to everyone, but for some, it is; it affects different people, well, differently. (one of the ways to get a medical marijuana prescrip is for pain relief, to make an obvious point)

This post is from someone who was perma-stoned from ~1986 to ~2003. (I think - can't remember for sure) I have experience in this matter.

Also, big LOL @ hellholming's post. :)
 
#13 ·
I too believe the suspensions should drastically reduced. I never understood getting a 6 month to a year suspension when guys who are on some next level roids pratically get the same suspensions.

Also as John mentioned, I too believe if someone has a medicinal card, and is up front with the commisions, I don't believe it should be an issue.

At the end of the day, it's ridiculous suspending someone for 6 month to a year for smoking up before an event in my opinion.
 
#14 ·
At the end of the day, it's ridiculous suspending someone for 6 month to a year for smoking up before an event in my opinion.
Not that ridiculous, they know the rules and they are quite easy rules to follow. If they choose not to then something like this is fair. And anything less then 6 months would almost not be a form of punishment for most of these guys that only fight a couple times a year. Even a year suspension means most guys will only miss 2 maybe 3 fights.
 
#15 ·
I'll probably draw heat here, but all illegal drugs should be tested for and should be banned substances. Even if you have a medical marijuana card in California or Nevada or elsewhere, marijuana posession is still illegal on a federal level. The same cannot be said for TRT. TRT is legal in the U.S. with a doctor's prescription. I'm not saying TRT is good for the sport or should be allowed in the sport, but comparing marijuana and TRT expemptions is apples and organges. Marijuana is federally illegal nationwide even if some states decriminalized it.

2 other quick reasons why pot shouldn't be allowed in the UFC
1: it's so easy to get out of your system by simply not smoking for the month leading up to the fight. if a fighter pisses dirty, theres no way to tell if he smoked 2 weeks before the fight, or right before the fight.

2: marijuana causes you to have a higher pain tolerance. if you're stoned you may be able to hold out those extra few seconds till the bell rings while caught in an armbar that you wouldnt've been able to otherwise. if you're going to allow weed because people have a prescription, why not allow someone to take a hand full of oxycontin and a few cc's of demerol with a prescription right before the fight? because it numbs the pain and gives one fighter an advantage.

I think pot should be legal in this country for everyone over 21, but I'm glad that fighters aren't allowed to piss dirty for weed after a fight.
 
#23 ·
As has been said numerous times, it has both positive & negative effects, and it doesn't necessarily affect everyone the same. Unfortunately, it's not black and white. Still, like I said before, it shouldn't be treated the same as 'roids. Nor should it be OK to fight "under any influence".
 
#24 ·
They are not seeing Weed as a performance enhancing drug they are looking at it as a a judgment impairing drug as they wouldn't let a fighter step in the cage drunk. Decisions like taking that extra shot after the bell, holding that choke a little longer, those are decisions that effect the other fighters safety and they want both fighters to have clear heads when those decisions are made.

Its not about pain relief or performance enhancing.
 
#25 ·
Commission doctors have actually claimed that it is...

"According to MMAweekly.com, NSAC commission chairman Dr. Tony Alamo stated during Tuesday's hearing in Las Vegas that Diaz's Delta-9-THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) reading was an off-the-charts 175. A test is considered positive when THC levels broach 15, while Nevada holds its standard at 50.

"This creates a unique situation," expressed Alamo.

"I was there at this fight and believe that you were intoxicated, and that it made you numb to the pain," Alamo told Diaz, who was present. "Did it help you win? I think it did.""
 
#27 ·
Just one random thing, but apparently not? Actually it say it affect 'linear movements' but I don't know what that means.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/600655

Also, there are different kinds of marijuana which have different affects, as well as different physiologies. I know a guy who literally become paralyzed for several hours if he smokes marijuana.

In my own personal experience, I find weed to have amazing initial effects on reaction time, coordination and sometimes physical creativity. We play this ping pong game with adapted rules and two balls, basically the ultimate test of coordination, timing and reflexes. Some of the players definitely get a boost after taking a weed break, as attested by objective, sober onlookers. I've returned balls I definitely could never get if I wasn't blitzed

Again though, I find that weed reduces focus,so if youre not focused on the task you wont get any benefit and like it will be a detriment.

I find the notion that weed reduces physical confidence comes from the fact that people simply don't care, or don't know how to use the high when it comes.
 
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