# Sprinter tests positive for performance-dehancing drug **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** olympic-sports-track\ **Created:** [July 2, 2021, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprinter-tests-positive-for-performance-dehancing-drug/945507 "2021-07-02T13:50:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2021, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprinter-tests-positive-for-performance-dehancing-drug/945507/42 "2021-07-03T14:44:42Z")
The [Washington Post (paywall)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/07/03/shacarri-richardson-marijuana-olympics-doping-ban/) has an article up this morning about why marijuana is still on the WADA banned-substance list. The short of it seems to be a holdover from the War on Drugs (Clinton’s Drug Czar Barry McCafferty seems to have been particularly vociferous about it being included on the list), bureacratic intertia, and image-conscious corporate sponsors. As for why I believe Richardson, @BigT and @mhendo have summarized my thoughts well. More fundamentally, I think it’s good practice to believe people until they’ve given me a reason not to believe them, particulary when the truth or falsity of their claims have no impact on my life. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2021, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprinter-tests-positive-for-performance-dehancing-drug/945507/43 "2021-07-03T14:55:40Z")
Yes. I’m saying your post hoc rationalization for why it could be seen as providing a competitive advantage doesn’t hold up, because drugs that provide those effects are not banned. Anyone can take a non-prohibited substance that provides those effects. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2021, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprinter-tests-positive-for-performance-dehancing-drug/945507/44 "2021-07-03T15:58:51Z")
My sentiments were a little stronger, but this isn’t the pit. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2021, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprinter-tests-positive-for-performance-dehancing-drug/945507/45 "2021-07-03T16:27:04Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > was always under the impression that the title “diva” requires a certain sense of personal superiority and entitlement, a belief I’m above the _hoi polloi_ and that the rules don’t apply to me the way they do to other people. I see none of that in Richardson’s response to this incident. Maybe there’s something else that makes someone a “diva” in @dalej42’s mind. It clearly not just playing in the NFL. Maybe he could explain his thinking. Perhaps she’s not a diva and doesn’t think the rules don’t apply to her. She could just be a run of the mill idiot. But, I can happily call her a bigoted shitbag. She took down her tweets, but she’s definitely a homophobic shitter. [https://www.totalprosports.com/2021/06/25/social-media-explodes-over-old-tweets-from-track-star-shacarri-richardson-homophobic-defending-chris-brown-tweets/](https://www.totalprosports.com/2021/06/25/social-media-explodes-over-old-tweets-from-track-star-shacarri-richardson-homophobic-defending-chris-brown-tweets/) So, I’m glad she’s missing her gold medal as well as the $$$$ ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2021, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprinter-tests-positive-for-performance-dehancing-drug/945507/46 "2021-07-03T16:42:38Z")
So, physical therapy, psychological counseling, and deep tissue massages should also be banned? ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2021, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprinter-tests-positive-for-performance-dehancing-drug/945507/47 "2021-07-03T16:54:07Z")
So . . . did you know this before you labeled her a “diva”, or is this post-hoc justification? ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2021, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprinter-tests-positive-for-performance-dehancing-drug/945507/48 "2021-07-03T17:15:03Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > Yes. I’m saying your post hoc rationalization for why it could be seen as providing a competitive advantage doesn’t hold up, because drugs that provide those effects are not banned. Anyone can take a non-prohibited substance that provides those effects. But it may provide those benefits with fewer downsides than other options. If other athletes are on Prozac with it’s associated side effects but she can take marijuana without those side effects, she’ll have an advantage. That may be a reason to take it off the list, but regardless, it’s on the list right now. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2021, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprinter-tests-positive-for-performance-dehancing-drug/945507/49 "2021-07-03T17:28:19Z")
Eh, She’Carri’s tweets aren’t that problematic imo. Gwen Barry also had some old tweets unearthed in the last 24 hrs that are racially charged observations about whites, Chinese and Mexicans. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2021, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprinter-tests-positive-for-performance-dehancing-drug/945507/50 "2021-07-03T17:34:56Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > She took down her tweets, but she’s definitely a homophobic shitter. The homophobic tweet was from six years ago, when she was **15 years old**. I think that people should own their words, but I’ve also maintained consistently that people should be given the opportunity to redeem themselves if they change their attitudes, especially if their indiscretions occurred when they were kids. As I’ve said a number of times, I wouldn’t like to be judged on the worst things I said as a teenager. I mean, I know of some full-grown adults who use terms like “gold digger” and “liar” and “attention whore” when talking about female victims of assault and rape, and they’re _ **still** _ unapologetic about it. And none of this is relevant to your initial use of the term “diva,” which made no mention of her social media past, and was focused only on the marijuana incident. Like I asked before, what is it about this particular incident, and her reaction to it, that led you to call her a diva? ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2021, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprinter-tests-positive-for-performance-dehancing-drug/945507/51 "2021-07-03T17:56:34Z")
March 29 of this year: > She was a diva because she thought she could use weed and get away with it, then when she got caught, she blamed it on a ‘coping mechanism.’ ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2021, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprinter-tests-positive-for-performance-dehancing-drug/945507/52 "2021-07-03T17:58:45Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > The only legitimate role of USADA and WADA is to test for substances that provide an athlete with an unfair advantage in competition. Maaaaybe marijuana use could be performance enhancing in some very specific circumbstances, but that’s not the justification in WADA’s rule book. Marijuana along with cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, etc. are banned because they “are frequently abused in society outside of the context of sport,” according to the WADA rule book. > > I call bullshit. It’s not anti-doping agencies’ job to police recreational drug use. They shouldn’t be testing for these substances at all. I agree with this. It’s not anti-doping agencies job to enforce recreational drug use laws. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2021, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprinter-tests-positive-for-performance-dehancing-drug/945507/53 "2021-07-03T18:44:57Z")
Wait, a celebrity expresses an opinion about another celebrity, and you think that’s proof of…something? The WADA agreed that her use of marijuana was not related to performance at all, so why do you keep barking about this? ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2021, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprinter-tests-positive-for-performance-dehancing-drug/945507/54 "2021-07-03T18:50:06Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > The WADA agreed that her use of marijuana was not related to performance at all, so why do you keep barking about this? For the last time, it’s a dumb ass rule. It’s fucking stupid ‘just say no!’ nonsense. But a rule is a rule and she thought she could get away with it. And she’s telling you to unfollow her if you follow an openly gay rapper, that shows she’s definitely still a homophobic bigot. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2021, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprinter-tests-positive-for-performance-dehancing-drug/945507/55 "2021-07-03T18:52:02Z")
You know Sha’Carri Richardson is a member of the LGBTQ+ community, don’t you? Like, full pride, girlfriend, the works. Do you have ANY evidence outside of your own headspace that she doesn’t like Lil Nas X because he’s gay? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2021, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprinter-tests-positive-for-performance-dehancing-drug/945507/56 "2021-07-03T18:53:00Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > I agree with this. It’s not anti-doping agencies job to enforce recreational drug use laws. Especially given the fact that Richardson’s use of weed might well have been totally legal. Testing athletes for recreational drugs that are not in any way performance enhancing is a product of the drug panic of the 1980s, when they wanted to test everyone, and it was absurd and at least a little bit racist from the get go. > [@Chisquirrel](#): > > You know Sha-Carri Richardson is a member of the LGBTQ+ community, don’t you? The woman’s given name is styled “Sha’Carri.” ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2021, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprinter-tests-positive-for-performance-dehancing-drug/945507/57 "2021-07-03T18:53:46Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The woman’s given name is styled “Sha’Carri.” Whoops. Even looked at her Twitter to make sure I got the name right, still messed it up. Corrected, and thank you. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2021, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprinter-tests-positive-for-performance-dehancing-drug/945507/58 "2021-07-03T18:54:04Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > You know Sha’Carri Richardson is a member of the LGBTQ+ community, don’t you? She isn’t openly out. > **[Is Sha’Carri Richardson Gay? Here's Why The Internet Thinks So](https://www.pride.com/sports/2021/6/22/shacarri-richardson-gay-heres-why-internet-thinks-so)** > > The Olympian qualifier says her bright orange hair color was picked out by her girlfriend! ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2021, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprinter-tests-positive-for-performance-dehancing-drug/945507/59 "2021-07-03T18:55:05Z")
Wasn’t this battle already won, when it happened before? I seem to recall a Canadian snowboarder testing positive for weed, (this would be well before weed had been legalized in Canada!) losing his medal, but then…after some protesting it was reinstated as it was designated NOT performance enhancing! I’m confused that they aren’t all over that precedent. Perhaps I’m misremembering parts of it? I can’t remember his weird last name, but wasn’t his first name Rob? Anyone else remember this? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2021, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprinter-tests-positive-for-performance-dehancing-drug/945507/60 "2021-07-03T18:59:07Z")
Ross Rebagliati? ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2021, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprinter-tests-positive-for-performance-dehancing-drug/945507/61 "2021-07-03T19:00:40Z")
That’s the guy! Well done! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprinter-tests-positive-for-performance-dehancing-drug/945507.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sprinter-tests-positive-for-performance-dehancing-drug/945507.md?page=4)