In a press conference held on June 3, 2015, the Ultimate Fighting Championships announced that Marijuana & other rec drugs are only banned “in competition, ” which is deemed 6 hours before weigh-ins and 6 hours after the fight. Having decided that U.S. Anti-Doping Agency will be responsible for their revolutionary new anti-doping policy, the UFC aims to promote cleaner lifestyles and stronger performance for all of their athletes.
The idea behind this particular anti-doping policy is to ensure complete fairness on the playing field. Since the main issue here is the use of performance enhancing drugs, it seems as though the use of recreational drugs may not be under the same intense amount of scrutiny. Growth hormones, steroids, and blood doping are banned without question. Urine and blood tests will be administered to ensure that none of these substances are present in the competitor’s blood stream. Should any of these substances be found, a 2 year suspension will come into play with immediate effect.
Marijuana and recreational drugs will be treated a little differently to performance enhancers. As long as these substances are not found in the sports person’s blood stream either 6 hours before or after the fight there should be no problem. Should these substances be found “in competition”, a 1 year suspension will be implemented.
