American Long Jumper Loses Title After Cannabis Test

Tara Davis-Woodhall tests positive for THC, though critics question why drug is banned
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 27, 2023 1:39 PM CDT
Long Jumper Loses US Title After Cannabis Test
Tara Davis-Woodhall, in a file photo from the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.   (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)

Long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall took first in the USA Track & Field championships back in February with a leap of 6.99 meters, or 22 feet, 11 inches. She has since had to give up that national title, however, because of a cannabis test, reports the Washington Post. The US Anti-Doping Agency announced the penalty this week, saying the 23-year-old tested positive at the championships for THC, the active ingredient in marijuana and cannabis, per CNN. Davis-Woodhall also got hit with a one-month suspension, which she already has completed.

"Davis-Woodhall’s period of ineligibility was reduced to one month because her use of cannabis occurred out-of-competition and was unrelated to sport performance, and because she successfully completed a substance of abuse treatment program regarding her use of cannabis," says a USADA statement. Cannabis remains a banned substance in the eyes of the World Anti-Doping Agency, though critics say the rule is outdated given that marijuana is legal in so many places.

It sounds like the American agency might be coming around to that point of view. “USADA has advocated and will continue to advocate to WADA, the rulemaker, to treat marijuana in a fairer and more effective way to identify true in-competition use," the statement adds. This issue made headlines in 2021, when US sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson was banned from competing in the Summer Olympics in Tokyo following a positive cannabis test. In the wake of that controversy, the WADA said it would look into taking the drug off its list of banned substances, but the organization has yet to make that move. Davis-Woodhall has not publicly addressed her penalty. (More track and field stories.)

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