Is There A Place For Cannabis In Athletics?

Earlier this month sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson was suspended from Olympic competition after she tested positive for marijuana. It was a controversial move by the World Anti-Doping Agency, with many decrying the rule as unfair and nonsensical. We wondered: Does marijuana have any effect on athletic performance? And why is it a banned substance to begin with?

Angela Bryan is a professor of psychology and neuroscience at CU Boulder. She’s done a lot of research on athletes' relationship with cannabis. And CU’s Roger Pielke is the author of “The Edge: The War Against Cheating and Corruption in the Cutthroat World of Elite Sports.” He founded CU Boulder's Sports Governance Center.