UFC removes ban on fighters consuming cannabis

UFC fighters will no longer be banned from the sport if they test positive for cannabis, under new rules.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) announced a number of significant changes to its Anti-Doping Policy, on Thursday 14 January, most notably, removing THC from its list of banned substances. 

Fighters who test positive for being over the threshold of carboxy-THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, will no longer be considered to be violating UFC Anti-Doping Policy, unless there is evidence that an athlete used it “intentionally for performance-enhancing purposes”. 

In addition, the UFC confirmed in a statement on its website, that all other phyto cannabinoids – those derived naturally from the cannabis plant – are no longer classed as prohibited substances. 

These cannabinoids are often found in CBD products used widely by UFC athletes and no evidence exists that they would provide any significant performance advantage, said the body.

Jeff Novitzky, UFC senior vice president of Athlete Health and Performance, said: “While we want to continue to prevent athletes from competing under the influence of marijuana, and we have learned that urinary levels of carboxy-THC are highly variable after out-of-competition use and have poor scientific correlation to in-competition impairment.

“THC is fat soluble, meaning that once ingested, it is stored in fatty tissues and organs in the body and can be released back into the circulation, and consequently carboxy-THC appears in the urine, sometimes long after ingestion. It is therefore not an ideal marker in athletes to indicate in-competition impairment.”

Novitzky added: “The bottom line is that in regard to marijuana, we care about what an athlete consumed the day of a fight, not days or weeks before a fight, which has often been the case in our historic positive THC cases. 

“UFC Athletes will still be subject to marijuana rules under various Athletic Commission regulations, but we hope this is a start to a broader discussion and changes on this issue with that group.”

Hunter Campbell, UFC chief business officer, added: “This is the third modification we have made to the UFC Anti-Doping Policy since its launch in July of 2015. 

“It is another example that this is a living and breathing document that will continue to evolve and adapt when clear science supports changes that can further protect UFC athletes that compete in the Octagon.”